STILL NO BANK ACCOUNT! HOW AM I DOING?

Hi! Just wanted to update you on my "no bank account" progress.

Well after a few ups, downs, and glitches, and now things are becoming clearer and running smoother.

I mentioned before that, I had trouble the first month because I had to put my money on a pay as you go card. Some of my bills didn't accept the card. So that was a problem. I've since changed those bills to paying them online.

I've also opened an online stock account and I use that as a bank account. Etrade.com has a good online banking system that will issue a debit card on request. 

Malls are Crazy Spending Traps!
Shop Online and On Budget!

As for my online business, I arranged for my money to be paid out in checks. However, right now I'm having a hard time cashing the checks. I get paid through WePay.com. As of right now, I have 5 checks that can't cash since I have no bank account to put it into and when I go to a check cashing place, they haven't accepted the check. 

Until I find one that will cash the checks, I've ask a friend who is gonna take me to their bank and I'm gonna write the checks over to them. I have no problem leaving the checks in their bank until they clear. So, that is a problem that I'm still working out, with these checks. 

Study the Bitcoin The Next Currency!

That being said, so far I'm happier with my choice to get rid of my bank account. Although there is less stress to not owning a bank account, I'm still working out the kinks and I believe that, by the end of the year, they'll be worked out. 

BITCOIN

As of right now, more and more businesses are accepting the bitcoin as a form of currency.  I'm setting up a brand new computer to start mining bitcoin. The bitcoin has also been added to the world currency chart. Check into it soon. We already have our first bitcoin millionaire, a woman from Australia. How awesome is that! I'll cover her story in a future post! 

I've rambled too long so, I'll post soon. CIAO!

STOCK MARKET IS DOWN, FOREX IS WACKY, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE RESIGNS!

AND STILL money is the great equalizer.

Even more so these days!  Haven't you noticed that not many people can fake wealth today like they did in the 80's and 90's? I always believed (thanks to my mother's teaching) that having money is better than having credit.  Now, I know that not many people would agree with that, but it's holding true for these days.  I left a job where I would try and get people to open credit accounts everyday and all day.  My employee reviews would reflect how many people opened accounts while under my watch. I never did well at that because it was difficult to convince someone to do something I wouldn't do and that I didn't even believe in!  Once I let those people know that I understood and agreed with their not wanting to continue to get deeper into credit card debt and they knew that the pressure was off, I'd hear their stories of how they just got out of debt and now only was using cash. For those consumers,the blinders are off  and they see that the Emperor has no clothes on.

The Crazy Shopping Season Begins Again!

The easiest customers to sell a credit card to was new immigrants, and newly liberated teens (18+19) and young adults just out of college, males and females. New to the employee status realizing that they can get a $1500.00 credit card and only pay $200 of their $1,200. a month salary (if they're lucky).  They could buy lots of stuff and still have enough left over to save for that brand new car!

Now, living in a wealthy retirement community like the one I live in (no, I'm not wealthy, I just live here, in a nice little bungalow). I see that my neighbors think like I do. The reason they're retiring into 6 million dollar homes is because they didn't spend their money on new cars and paying off their credit cards.  

The week that I moved in I met a couple who decided to downgrade their 3 million dollar home to a 2 million dollar home because it was smaller and without kids in the house any longer, they didn't need the space of the bigger house. The choices they have here are enviable and oh so inspirational! When I see the treadmill that the young ones are volunteering to jump on, I fear for their future. We didn't seem to learn anything from our recent ECONOMICAL past.

I've decided to take advantage of the money I've managed to save (which amounts, so far, to approximately $300. a month), and put it into the stock market when it drops some more. I put most of my money so far into taking my singer to Chicago, for her CD Launch (which we are still around $540.00 USD short of going and DONATIONS are still being accepted), but I plan to start investing cash as soon as I get back from Chicago and can start saving up again. I also have some other business investments I'm considering. But more about those on another post.  I'll be glad when the Chicago trip is over.

Another thing I keep a close watch on is Forex trading.  I keep a money APP on my phone and my tablet so I can see how monetary values are changing. I'm trying to see if I can make money by buying other types of currency when our dollar becomes worth more than theirs. I can't figure it back and forth, that's too much thinking.  I'll pay someone to do that for me later when I can afford it.

The More We Have The More We Want!
When Will We Have Enough!

The last bit of news is that the Speaker of the house has resigned. Actually I heard of this last Friday and wondered why the News Media hadn't broadcasted it.  I woke up every morning wondering if they had a gag order not to broadcast the news.  Our media is very manipulated by our government. I don't trust their broadcasts because they won't tell us anything the government doesn't want them to, but, once again, a topic for another post..... or not.

A PLEA TO HELP CRYSTAL DENNIS - THE LAST MONTH!

I'm leaving another chance for you to DONATE to this cause. Please search your heart and find it in you to help me give this Blind Celtic Crossover Artist her dream of recording her first CD. If you saw her on the street begging with a tin can, I trust that you'd give to her cause.  Why is this any different? Because she has enough talent to be self sufficient? Please donate $5 now? Just click on the button below, then pass the link to your friends, family, co-workers, and social networks.  Please help us to do this?

AS ALWAYS!  STAY HAPPY AND POSITIVE! CATCH YA NEXT POST!

LOTS OF CHANGES! AND FINALLY, A SILVER LINING!

JULY 17TH 2015!!!

Keep that date in mind as you read and I'll let you know why later.

First I started this blog and then I got rid of my bank account. Since then, 3 more people that I know of have gotten rid of their bank accounts as well. Although they are new at it, I know they watch this blog to gage how I'm doing.

In hard times, you can rearrange 
your budget to keep 
more of your money and invest
what you manage to save

OH NO!!!   I QUIT MY JOB!!!

My next big move was to quit my job. I found that by rearranging my budget, I actually keep more money without a job. I manage  to keep about 300 extra dollars a month by not working! Now I'm taking the money I save and I'm starting to day trade stocks. Back in 2004, I started day trading and with that money I moved to Vermont, USA in 2008 and in 2009 I opened a small souvenir shop on the Main Street (something I've always dreamed of doing). 

DAY TRADING; A NEW START

So I've started again with my trading. I've been ignoring my remaining stocks which included Facebook (which increased by $50 a share since I've bought it!), so I've lost all of my Real Estate Stocks. Right now, I can't take any money out of the account, I can only trade due to the type of account I have so I plan to add money to the account and day trade. 

Some of my other businesses I've not begun yet because I'm focusing on getting my singer to Chicago for her CD recording.  I'm gonna put a link at the bottom of this post for those who'd like to donate to her Go Fund Me Campaign. 

Fruit is very inexpensive

But back to my rearranging my budget to keep more money than I spend, that helped me so much and I encourage anyone who  hasn't done this already, to start doing so now. 

Sometimes we work so hard to make MORE money that we don't realize how much we're spending just to keep a job. Most of my money that I made was being used to keep the job that I had. Since it was in retail, they cut your hours whenever they didn't have enough hours to give. So many employees are hurting! 

A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE

4 pounds (1 kilo)  for $1.50 USD

So as of today, I'm living better, eating better and (healthier), and my stress level is way down.  I'm finally learning to enjoy life. After I return from Chicago with my singer, I plan to take golf lessons and take advantage of the horse stables we have down here that allow us to ride on the beach for only $5 per hour USD, and it's located about 2 miles away from my beach front flat.

THE SILVER LINING

Now why did I ask you to remember the date of JULY 17, 2015? Because that was the day I decided to get rid of my bank account, remember? Here is a chronological update. August was stressful, disorganized, and I wondered if I'd done  the right thing. 

Now, in September, things are starting to get better.  I did a month's worth of incidentals and grocery shopping and
caught up with my bills. I even for paid part of the Chicago trip for me and my singer.  I'm still about $200 short but, if I could have raised the money to take her and not had to use my own money, I'd be in the black money-wise.  We're still trying to raise the funds with the Go Fund Me Campaign. I'll let you know what happens.

Well, that's my update for now.  I'm quite content with how things are turning out. 

please help me help CRYSTAL DENNIS by clicking on the button below

THE U.S. STOCK MARKET DOWN 500 POINTS!

WOW!  I couldn't believe it when I read this in the NY TIMES this morning! Now, I'm not one who follows the market and I won't pretend that I am. I only try to keep up to notice trends.

Whenever I read this it makes me happy that I'm taking control of my finances and STILL they aren't perfect and they're not at all where they need to be.

If I had the resources, I'd paid out of pocket to help the singer I'm supporting (her career) do everything she needs to advance in her career. Once again, I thank those who have donated.

Back to the money issue, the GREAT EQUALIZER for us all. I'm feeling blessed that I am in a situation where I don't depend on Wall Street the banking system for my finances.

I'm still teetering and tottering around getting more financial stability and that part isn't fun. I need a car and I won't get a bank loan to buy one, so I'm saving money and it's taking a long time. I'm also going with my singer to Chicago to a DIY Indie music convention the same weekend she's going to record her CD. With the Go Fund Me Campaign not going well, I don't know how we're going to do it but I'm trusting in God that it will be done.

The world is closer that we know to becoming a New World Order with the financial districts leading the way.

For those of you in "The Market" right now I only have one word for you.  BUY BUY BUY!!  This is the time to buy stocks. People tend to run away when the market crashes. Instead you should take advantage and buy stocks that you couldn't afford before.

I have to reactivate my Etrade account and get back into the market myself.  These are good times if you know where to look and don't stay calm. Let others panic you look for opportunities.

Well, I'm ending my post here.  I'll post again soon. I again, want to encourage you to donate to Crystal Dennis's Go Fund Me Campaign. I'll post the button below. I also want to share her lastest original song. MoonSong by Crystal Dennis soon to be available on ReverbNation.com, Loudr.com, Itune, and Amazon.com.  This is the first day of it's posting so I'd like to share it here.

REMEMBER, YOU CAN DONATE TO CRYSTAL'S  GO FUND ME CAMPAIGN BY CLICKING ON THE BUTTON BELOW

WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY?  DONATE WHAT YOU CAN AND 

ADIOS! UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Is Not Owning a Bank Account Still Working?

No matter what your nationality or the color of your skin, money IS the GREAT EQUALIZER!

There was a time in my life when I lived in the best neighborhood and had plenty of cash, and I was treated differently, yes, life was very good! Then I lost it and again, I was treated differently, and it was not good.  That is the premise of this blog. Living in a humane society, most of us don't like to admit that money makes people treat us differently. But people who went from rags to riches or riches to rags, know this all too well.

The rest of us are fine believing that "money changes people", other people, but, we have trouble believing that someone else having money changes the way we treat them but it can and it will.

If we're not aware of it, it certainly will! That green-eyed monster is a tricky minx and pride is its master. Become aware of this feeling of jealousy within yourself because that is the only way to beat it. Now, on to the premise of THIS post.....

IS NOT OWNING A BANK ACCOUNT STILL WORKING?

I don't know if I shared this with you before but, my adjusting to not having a bank account is taking longer than I thought it would.  I have a job where I get paid weekly and I have too check that I haven't cashed yet.  So I've been using my kid's account to put my money in (I said I'd be honest). So right now I'm using a bank account just not my own. I haven't put my money onto a prepaid card yet.

That's one reason that my posts haven;t been regular. In order to really know if it works for me, all of the pieces have to be in place for me and I can't be dependent on other peoples accounts, like I am right now. But as for how I feel about the change so far? Still great! I feel freer and have no ties to a bank is still really good.

I have a friend who is trying to do the same thing, she took the first step and retained most of her money in her last check and she feels "in control of her life".  I don't know if she'll keep on the path of not having a bank account, I'll keep you updated.

This decision reminds me of the "Seinfeld" episode when Kramer decided not to have a mailing address and not to receive mail from the post office. He instead opted receive his mail by fax, email, and the other methods we now have.  Back then it was funny because no one considered not having a maildrop but,, now many people don't (because they are going green).

The world is changing is many ways and how we store our money is one of them. I believe the banking institutions are trying to get their last dance in before they become obsolete. Accounts are being closed for no good reason, and I even know of a bank that has stopped accepting money transactions for anything but business accounts.  They only accept checks and money orders for a deposit into a personal account. I know because I was the person who tried to deposit the cash and this is what I was told by the teller.  I had to go buy a money order and then return and deposit the money order instead. Something is happening and it's time for us to wake up.  When the banks closed in Greece, no one got a warning and the decision was made on a Sunday and the banks were closed on Monday the next day. The same happened in Argentina over ten years ago and no one got a warning, up until the morning of the closure, the people were being told that everything was fine, then the banks closed at 3 O'clock and never opened and it started a ten year financial event.

I hope you consider what is best for you and make changes if you think you should. Don't just keep saving the same way because its all you know to do. Study some alternative ways of saving. Bitcoins are starting to be accepted, start mining bitcoins and saving them. If your bank is manipulating your money with fees and more fees that eat away at your checking account. Take control of your money, after all, YOU'VE EARNED IT.

LET'S HELP CRYSTAL!
I'm still working to help the Blind Celtic Singer, Crystal Dennis make her studio recorded CD and she also hopes to go on tour next year to promote it. You can help with a donation to her
GoFundMe account at the link below Crystal's picture .

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

NO BANK ACCOUNT! HOW AM I DOING?

Hi!

Okay, I've been without an account for one month now. How is it?  Still doing fine. So far I haven't found a down side.  I'm going to be honest as I go through this process and, if I have any problems, I'll definitely let you know.

So, I'm getting my first out of the bank check and one negative point is that I have to go pick it up at the post office where I get my mail.  But if I had home mail delivery that wouldn't be a  problem.  I would still, however, have to cash the check at a check cashing place.

Right now, I miss my direct deposit but, EH! I'll get over it.

I had to re route my cash to online, paypal and prepaid card but so far that hasn't been a problem.

Now, my next step will be saving the cash. I have to buy a home safe and save it like they did in "the olden days", in a safe in the mattress in the floorboards.  Actually, it's kind of cool! It's like the Engels family in "The Little house on the Prairie".

As long as I'm doing that, I might as well start prepping! LOL!

As for my experiment? So far, so good!  I found that last month, I had more money in my pocket, and so far I have a clear mind for saving for next month.

I now have money to help Crystal Dennis with her Go Fund Me Campaign and I hope some of you will join me in helping her as well.  I will leave the campaign button on this page so you can have easy access to sharing the campaign as well as donating.

DONATE TO CRYSTAL

ADIOS TIL MY NEXT POST!

FOLLOW THE GREEN, NOT THE DREAM!

WHOA!  WHOA!  Sounds selfish, doesn't it?  But, if you really want to control your money, you have to play by those rules.  There are many corporations out there who are more that prepared to exploit your dreams for their benefit.

If you let them, they'll make you think you are winning when you're not.  That also includes that great corporation you work for (no matter WHERE you work), whether it's McDonald's or Macy's or Wall Street's finest!  Their main concern is their bottom line and they're willing to exploit you and your desires to get there.

For example, I worked in a store, I was very loyal to the company having been there since 1989 (off and on) and I enjoyed my co-workers company very much most of them I'd know for around 10 years or more.

Help Me,Help Crystal.A Blind Celtic
Singer who's fundraising to record her
first professional CD on Go Fund Me.
The link is at the bottom of this page.

When retail took a nose dive, around 2010, it was every man for himself and it hasn't turned itself around yet.  It's now at the point where employees are suffering with their paychecks.  I know people who have a biweekly check totaling $40 USD, and $57 USD (the 57 is mine).  No company should be paying that pithy amount. No one can survive on that!  Then they schedule all "willy nilly" (all over the clock) so you can't get another job because they want you to be available for anytime they need to schedule you. 

The way I see it, if a company can only offer you that pity amount of hours, they should lay you off and let you collect unemployment! They can always rehire you back (or call you) when more hours become available.

But that would mess up their accounting.  It's better for them to have more employees on the books because the government will compensate them for the lack of hours and money lost. They could also schedule employees part time and not have to give retirement benefits.

They follow their green, not your dream.  

The original dream of the corporation usually doesn't survive past the first three generations. It becomes a fight for survival, theirs, not yours! and the employee usually suffers for it in wages and lack of hours of work.

This retail era is the worst that I've ever seen!  You can feel the tension in the stores when you go in.  The employees are overworked and unhappy.  There aren't enough people around to help you on the salesfloor when you need it.  Working their is worse that shopping there.  They promote false leaders to keep people from quitting.  The promotion doesn't give the promotee a higher wage, instead they get to have a one hour lunch instead of a half hour lunch like the peon workers, and they get to control their coworkers ASSignments.

Then, if they don't do well at their new assignment, they usually are "let go" or they get very low hours, so low that they'd rather quit and they do.

Once again, this is the green that the company is following, not the original founder's dream, or their employee's dream.

The bottom line is, decide if your job is still supporting your needs?  If not, start making a list of businesses you can start for yourself.

My last bi weekly check was 57 US dollars!!!!

When I realized that my last bi weekly check was 57 US dollars, I needed to re-evaluate my wage earning priorities.  I'm really appalled that there are businesses out there that (corporations I should say) that condone this pity wage practice. If anyone wants the name of this company, contact me on this blog and I'll be more than happy to tell you.

Remember your green, should be your first priority. We are not using the barter system anymore, we use money, real money. Don't settle for less than a sustainable wage. I'm ending this post here but it's not the last I'll write about this subject. AND


LET'S HELP CRYSTAL!

Remember to help this Blind Celtic Singer to achieve her dream.  She truly deserves to make her first professional CD.  Go to her Go FUnd ME Campaign and donate. Then share her link with your friends and family.  Here is the link:

PLEASE SHOW YOUR HEART AND DONATE

UNTIL THE NEXT POST!

TAKE CARE!

HOORAY! No More Bank Accounts EVER!!!

Ahhhh! Money!  Greenbacks! Dough! Lettuce! and all the other euphemisms for it. All it REALLY is is something we use to barter.

why is our money always
getting away from us?

Our governments control us with money.  Our credit rating determines our lives now.  And with all this being true, we wonder why the young kids worship money so much!

I mentioned in an earlier post, posing a question, do we really need a bank account? Well, I did it, I got rid of all my bank accounts. 

Now my money goes right onto a prepaid visa card and all my checks are mailed out and cashed across the street from my mailbox at a check cashing place.  I live for cash only spending and am I EVER happier.

I'm still in the phase of redirecting my funds and catching up with some bills,but not having to worry about the banking system anymore is a stress relief.  

Now, my money is my own, to spend as I choose, and it feels TERRIFIC!  

Is this for everyone?  I can't really answer that.  But I know that once you relinquish those strongholds, you start considering alternatives.

I started with getting rid of my bank accounts and now I see more money in my purse than was there before, in fact I get 3 checks next week and I have money on my card and $123.00 USD in my purse.  Not enough to really blog about, I know.  But as they say, "I'm not where I should be, but, thank God I'm not where I was" (which was negative 400+ dollars every month).  Oh, and I forgot, I haven't been working for 3 months (at my corporate job) since I took a 3 month leave of absence to do a business retreat.  

But that means, I also haven't been spending money like I'd be at work either, you know transportation, lunches, and work incidentals.

I'll keep you posted to share if this works in the long run.  But, for now, I don't think I'll ever have a bank account again!!

I'LL CHECK YA LATER!!  GET IT? CHECK  ---   BANK?  I KNOW ha! ha!  I'll post updates. G'bye until then and don't spend too much-----money!

GETTING RID OF MY CHECKING ACCOUNT?

Hi!  Kiki here about about something of which I have NO knowledge!  That's right, none at all.  I'm learning about it now and sharing my new knowledge with you, the reader.  That's seems strangely refreshing to admit.  Because I believe that it's when you admit not having the education and knowledge you should have about a subject, when you stop pretending that you know, you open yourself up for the universe to start teaching you.  The universe is a relentless teacher.

Since I've spent most of my life in professions where I had to know the answers like teaching and working in a bank and jobs like that.  Now,  that I can relax and not have the answers, the universe is opening itself up to teaching me.  And I;m ready to learn.

You know, recently I've been studying about the Berlin wall. When it was erected ( from all reports, it was erected overnight, back in 1961) and when it came down in 1989.  I remember working in a JCPenney Department Store during the 1989 holiday season and some German tourists came in to shop.  My supervisor at the time, told me that they were from West Germany and it was the first time they were able to leave Germany and toured the rest of the world.

I remember feeling honored to help them.  What a wonderful experience for them.  I was thinking that our mind is a lot like that Berlin Wall.  When the wall comes down we move from having our thoughts controlled to moving into experiencing a new way of  life. A freer way of life.

I found our by coming here to Mexico that, the USA is one of the few countries that fully rely on credit and credit scores.  It's wonderful to travel to a land where once again, CASH IS KING!!

I remember watching a Youtube video of a woman who moved to Mexico after she retired from the US military.  She said in the video that she was happy to be in a place where she could live in a luxurious home and where companies where not trying to ruin our life over a bad credit ding.

CASH IS KING in other countries.  Anyway, once again, I digress.....The topic the this post is Getting Rid of my Checking account.  I finally did it.  I got rid of my checking account and switched every bill to prepaid visa cards and paypal.  I'm going to send for checks and use my paypal account as my main account.I'll let you know if it affect anything in my life but for now, I'm feeling liberated.  I like not having to worry if the bank is gonna charge extra fees or if something is gonna come through that I cancelled three months ago.  Anxiety was looming.  Cutting that tether was very liberating!

Ok, I made my decision and I'm like you to comment on the question, do we REALLY NEED a checking account??  What do you think....

Well, it's 10:42pm PST and I'm getting sleepy. Going to sleep now.

REMEMBER!  KEEP REACHING FOR THE MOON BECAUSE, EVEN IF YOU MISS, YOU'LL BE AMONG THE STARS!!!

HELP CRYSTAL DENNIS REACH HER STAR....... SUPPORT HER GOFUNDME CAMPAIGN BY SELECTING THE CAMPAIGN BUTTON BELOW:

WITH MONEY, LIKE GOLD, YOU'VE GOT TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER!

I'm writing my next blog entry.  Hang tight!  I'm finding that this blog, unlike my expat blog at www.globalcommunitypark.blogspot.com  I have to dig deeper.  This money thing has baffled me and plagued my very existance.

I know that may seem strange to some people reading this, but I also know that some of you understand it very well, because you are the same way.

For example, for you guys out there (and you ladies can reverse the scenario), have you ever seen someone that you are drawn to (you know, like ....well you know), and you have one chance to ask them out for a cup of coffee to see if the feeling can become something more?  Then the chance to talk to that person is gone because they just turned the corner, left the building, just walked out of your "field of vision"?

Then, in this scenario, you look ahead and they're about to cross the street, or they stopped to get (a coffee lol!) from a vending machine and voila! there's a second chance to make a connection. But you're paralyzed, you know what you should do, but somehow you're hesitant to follow through even though the follow through could change your life, and give you what you've always wanted?

Well, freeze the feeling of that moment and you'll understand my dilemma with wealth building. The strides I've made before I stopped myself, awakened me to the fact that my issues were deeper than just learning how to make money.  I knew what to do and how to do that.  But something was stopping me!

And it wasn't just "not taking action" or "not following through".  That's just what well meaning people say when they don't know the real answer.  That's the easy fix answer

to say, "I don't know figure it out yourself". What people tell you when they are having the same problems but are better at hiding it than you are.

That wasn't me, I REALLY wanted to fix this.  That brought me to where I am now. Even though I'm still learning.  I'm willing to ask the hard questions to people who are giving me the hard to hear answers.

A recent example of this is that, as you know, if you follow my blogs, I'm helping a blind Celtic singer with a Go Fund Me Campaign that'll allow her to go to Chicago and record her first CD.  She has the studio waiting for her.  They are giving her 3 hours of time in the studio and she will meet with a professional engineer to help her get her music in order before the actual day she is in the studio recording.  It's a great opportunity for her and a big step in her career but I can't seem to help her get donations!

I asked a friend for suggestions, Both she and her husband are successful lawyers and her husband is also a politician.  She was a fundraiser for his campaign, I asked her for some tips to help me help Crystal raise funds.

She said, "..well, personally, I think my husband might have won the election, but I didn't work hard enough".  OUCH! that hit hard!  With everything I'm doing, could I not be working hard enough??

Well that was the message I got from her comment.  Since then I've been working harder and I'm now determined that Crystal will get to Chicago and record her CD.

 I don't understand why people I'm contacting aren't willing to donate to her campaign but, I now realize that, I'm in this alone.

What I really don't understand is; I've seen people use Go Fund Me and get funded 12,000. for vacations to Italy, and one man got 20,000. to make a new potato salad recipe!

I don't get it. But I really don't care anymore.  But I digress......   

And by the way, if you can find it in your heart to donate to Crystal's campaign.  Here's the button:

But back to this story.  So these days, I've put myself in a neighborhood of hardworking people who have built a large enough nest egg to own beautiful homes on the beach and I feel bless to be able to live here and learn from them.

And if you're wondering why I don't get donations from them, I'm planning an event to do just that.  I also plan to put in $600.00 of my own money. 

I just wanted to use the fundraising campaign story with my lawyer friend as an example of how my new attitude about money is opening me up to seeking advice on thinking out of the box as well as they're kicking my butt every once in a while.  

By the way, although I don't consider my lawyer friend rich, she certainly is successful.
  
Basically, if you're going into an office and trading hours for dollars (even if you're self employed) you're probably not wealthy. Of course there are exceptions. But that's another enlightenment for another post.

Well, I meant for this to be an explanation of why my next post was taking so long to enter but it turned out to be it's own post. Gonna end it here. 

I hope my sharing is helping someone out there or at least making you think of how blessed you are because you've overcome the things I'm now learning a long time ago. Ciao for Now!

AND REMEMBER ALWAYS REACH FOR THE MOON BECAUSE, EVEN IF YOU MISS, YOU'LL BE AMONG THE STARS!!      Be Blessed, Kiki!

MONEY! The Great Equalizer! PART II

This is a continuation of yesterday's introduction to my blog.  Didn't intend for it to be this long, but I wanted to set it up for you to understand that this a sharing blog.  I hope to foster a community where we can wealth build together. Here is the continuation of yesterday's discussion:

: to continue from yesterday, it was then that I realized that wealth building is not about getting more money.  At least, not alone. It's about changing your mindset.  It's about knowing without a doubt that you deserve to have more money.  An abundance of money.  I guess I've been living in survival mode for so long, almost 30 years, that I was in a survival mindset .  When I was in my 20s I had an abundance of money, when I hit age 35, and life happened (you know, bills, car and house repairs, kids needing clothes and school supplies and not to mention the emergencies that inevitably pop up). 

It got harder to save, or I should say that saving was no longer my priority and it didn't help that my husband didn't have a saving ethic either.  When we met and I had a car, apartment, and lots of money in the bank, he just thought I was from a wealthy family (not that I saved the money on my own).  

If I was going to accumulate any wealth at all I had allot of mental recondition to do.  From late 2012 - mid 2014, I passionately studied wealth and talked with some wonderful people who have made millions, lost it and in some cases, made it back again, and at least one of them that could have made his millions back, but he was afflicted with health problems. 

These are some of the stories I'll share with you in this blog.  I'll share what I learned and what I'm doing now to change my mindset.  This is something that anyone can do. 

I've looked online for a wealth building blog but the ones I found are written by people writing from a high point, looking down at the poor people (like me and perhaps you) who haven't figured it out yet.  I'd like to dispel some of those  myths.  I'm finding out that it's not as easy as the, "do this, or do that and you can make money like I do" attitude.  

If it were that simple,  everyone would be wealthy.  Most of us, if we're not in control of our wealth it's because our mindset is not conditioned for acquiring wealth.  I've heard it all.  I've gone to the wealth seminars and listened to Trump and Tony Robbins, and others speak, and interviewed other millionaires while taking them to lunch.  Right now, I'm living in a community where I'm renting, but the community has many millionaires.  I'll tell you how I did that too. But, if you want to jump ahead, you can go to my other blog called Global Community Park at www.globalcommunitypark.blogspot.com.  

Now, I don't claim to have expertise but I have 15 years of gaining knowledge and experience, and I'm working through my mental trappings of poverty and my spirit of solely surviving.  I'm on my way to soaring and thriving and I'll share how I'm doing that.  

My blog won't replace the money blogs of the many gurus out there but, it'll give a beginner, like me, someone they may be able to identify with.  I'll share what I've learned in the passed 10-15 years about wealth building and the mental reconditioning I needed to adopt for myself to get here, and at times, still needing a push to get to where I'm taking action.

Anyway, this blog is getting long, too long.  I hope you come on this journey with me.  I'm on the cusp of achieving my goal. 

How about you? Are you right where you know you should be, but suffer from a failure to launch? Are you in procrastination city?  Traveling on the dragging your feet freeway?  Let's move onto the next plateau together.  I'm writing this blog for both of us. We CAN do this!  Come back Soon!

Don't hesitate to comment, make suggestions!  


ALWAYS REACH FOR THE MOON BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU MISS, YOU'LL LAND AMONG THE STARS!!

MONEY is the Great Equalizer!

I'd like to introduce you to my blog.  It's about money. But, it's not what you may be thinking.  This is a blog about a person (me) who is just figuring out at the age of 57, how to accept money into my life (or rather, an abundance of money).

On the one hand I'm embarrassed to admit that. But on the other hand, I know people older than I, who have never gotten to this point and probably never will.

I've always been around people who have had money, lots of it, so I never knew how hard it was to get, to invest and then to grow and keep it.  I've come into large sums of money 3 times in my lifetime. Once at age 19, then 25, and the last time at age 40.  Most people will NEVER come into a lump sum of money in their whole life.  But I have, 3 times and yet I'm still without abundant money.

Well, ten years ago at age 47, I decided I would give myself 10 years to get wealthy.  Here I am at 57 and still not there.  But those ten years were not wasted, I started putting a plan into action.  I went to college and studied business and finance. Then, I decided that when my kids graduated from college and high school in 2008, I would move to an area where I could save money, where the cost of living was lower than where I was living which was San Diego, California.  I chose Vermont because I'd lived there before and loved it and I knew the cost of living was low.

I moved there, got a job and an apartment and started saving money right away.  After a year of work I had almost saved enough to open a small trinket shop and got the balance of the cash I needed by liquidating some stocks I had, I opened the souvenir shop and was written up in their towns newspaper as the first African-American to own a shop on Main Street. The experience, although a good one, was not profitable.  It taught be that I would NEVER want to own a brick and mortar shop again.

On days when we were snowed in and had no customer's it was torture! Just being in the store with no customers to wait on was depressing.  Then, in the non-snow month's, which we only had 4 months without snow for 2 of the 3 years I was there and 6 months out of 12 the 3rd year, there was major competition because all the stores were making up for the lost money in during the winter months.   It was so cold and snowy that I started getting health problems.  Found out later that I had arthritis.

But I digress, I got more curious about how this money thing works.  I decided to return to California mainly due to my health issues and my kids also wanted to come back.  Since returning in 2011, I've been studying and trying to acquire the wealth of say 10 - 20,000 USD a month.  Not allot, just enough to be comfortable, at least for now.

Once again I found a job at a shopping mall, saved money while we stayed with a friend and then moved into a small place and paid 800 USD (in California, that's a good price for rent).  While there, I tried again to wealth build.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you what happened next. This is becoming a long read. I;m anxious for us to go on this journey together.  Tomorrow, after my blog introduction post part 2, I'll share with you, my plan.

But for now, I'll end here.  You can continue reading the next post or  read part 2 when  you return tomorrow.

 Please comment and make suggestions.  Follow the blog and sign up for emails and remember to:

ALWAYS REACH FOR THE MOON BECAUSE, EVEN IF YOU FALL, YOU'LL LAND AMONG THE STARS!!!