Good example, or horrible warning?
There’s a quote that goes something like “If you can’t be a good example, you’ll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” Many people are afraid to learn something new. They’re comfortable in their current expertise, their current friend circle, their current situation. Trying something new requires us to…
But what can I do?
People are feeling very out of control currently, as the world is rapidly changing around them. After Friday’s press conference where the Minnesota governor was talking about how they didn’t plan to close schools, the Minnesota governor announced today (Sunday) that schools will be closed effective Wednesday. But some schools…
COVID-19 and teaching experiences for kids
COVID-19 is stressing many families right now. Parents are asking, what do I talk about with my children? From a financial perspective, in my family we are talking about what various people are doing. For example, we have accelerated purchases that we would normally make, in the form of non-perishables…
Four walls
A lot of financial advisors are helping clients with the current down and volatility of the stock market. It’s true, what’s happened there is scary. Others are stressed about what to do about work due to infection. Occurrences for taking sick days, occurrences for staying home with children if schools…
The Value of Social Capital
I don’t know how your 2020 is starting off, but mine got off to a bit of a rocky start. The plumbing problems continued to the point where we had a pair of men with shovels, digging up holes in my yard to try to unstick a completely non-draining septic….
Be a janitor
There was a funeral I needed to attend this Christmas season. The custodian I’d worked with had died. That doesn’t sound like anything remarkable, does it? “My father was a janitor” was what one of Joe’s sons started with at the funeral eulogy. But then there was everything else. First,…
Modeling giving to children
Children are inherently greedy creatures. At birth, that’s okay – baby’s needs are great, and any extra to give is almost non-existent. They eat, they sleep, they cry, they grow (and in mine’s case, that sleep part is merely a parental mirage). But by the time they become adults, we…
Planning ahead
Thanksgiving is coming. With it, ideally, we’d be hosting and attending various gatherings with family and friends. Planning a meal for the immediate family. Developing a meal plan, making a grocery list, hitting the grocery store. Planning out my cooking timelines, making shelf-stable items in advance, making freezable items in…
Water, water, everywhere
As I’ve often told my two kiddos, as we talk about evolutionary biology and anthropology, indoor plumbing is a wonderful thing. Until it’s not. Two weekends ago we had water in our basement. It was a multi-faceted problem: A basement toilet that has had many problems with its flapper valve….
Margin for others
It seems to be a season of need. We’re between the blood drives of summer, and people’s remembering of need as the holidays approach. The local food shelf campaign is mid-season, as is the Giving Campaign through employers and directly the winter clothing drive for the United Way. Families are…