Living StingyTM
You may wonder how I picked the name of this blog. Frankly, not too much thought went into it. One day, I thought I would try to get my finances in order by thinking about every aspect of my living expenses, income, and spending, and then write it all down - which is one sure way to actually get things done. When you write something down, you have to think about it.
I thought about using words like "Frugal" or the like, but they seemed so mike-toast and mild and not really making any sort of point. Bland blogs with bland messages are never very interesting to read - and the Internet is chock full of them.
For example, you click on a link about leasing, and some idiot says, "Well, there are pros and cons to leasing a car. For example...blah, blah, blah, blah." While trying to appeal to everyone and appease everyone, he ends up saying nothing at all, other than "Well, it all depends, and you know, everyone is right, sort of, all the time."
This is, of course, utter bullshit and bland crap. And frankly, we have enough bland in the world today. Bland food, bland cars, bland lives - yeech! You can have it all. No thanks!
Too few people are willing to say anything anymore, out of fear of offending someone, or vague fears of being sued. You can't say that someone is a liar or that such-and-such a deal is a ripoff. And that is sad. Because our "information superhighway" is really worthless if the information is trivial, bland, inoffensive, or really not information at all, but just Search Engine Optimized text designed to generate click-though revenue.
Which, by the way, is why this blog is not monetized. You're welcome.
So I decided - and it was an instant decision, not something agonized over - to use Living Stingy, as it is more dramatic than "Frugal" - and besides, there was already a Stingy Living site out there.
Some people are offended by the word and have negative connotations about it. Muslims cite parts of the Koran as condemning stinginess and promoting giving to charity (let's leave aside the whole issue of Muslim charities, which at their best, promote fundamentalists madrases, and at the worst, terrorism).
Others react negatively, citing how their parents are "stingy" because they won't buy them a new car. To them, life is all about spending, and actually owning money -having wealth - is an anathema to them. These people, are, of course, idiots.
And you may notice that I don't pull any punches in this blog, either. The worst postings I have here are the ones where I equivocate and don't put forth a solid opinion one way or the other. No one wants to read such drivel, as it says nothing.
So yes, some of my postings are somewhat extreme - and sometimes tongue-in-cheek - but you don't get people to think by saying bland things or by equivocating.
And sometimes you need to jolt people out of their coma-like lifestyles by pointing out that, yes, leasing sucks, debt is bad, credit cards are dangerous, and most people are to blame for their own difficulties.
Because the powers-that-be that push the other message are far more powerful and their message is far stronger. They want you to think that leasing is great, debt is normal, that credit cards are fun, and that when it all goes horribly wrong, it must the politicians' fault for not bailing you out. You are a passive victim - and there is nothing you can do about it! And that powerful messaged is hammered into your brain by the TeeVee every day - and most people buy it.
And this is why I say you have to give up TeeVee if you want to get ahead in life. And here, I am not being dramatic to make a point. Even a "little" TeeVee watching clogs your brain with poor normative cues that will, over time, drag you down into a depressed blithering idiot consumer drone.
Now, if you want to disagree with any of this, fine. Go away. I am not forcing you to read this blog, and no, I am not really interested in your defense of consumerism or squandering of cash. In fact, I am not really interested in much of what you have to say. As I noted earlier, any idiot can "comment" - it takes talent to write.
So, if you have something to say, start your own blog. It would be a good thing to do.
But if you don't like this one - or don't like me - just go away, because I'm not really all that interested in what you have to say.
