Ace Wisdom

We’ve established that each person is a business. Usually I would start with the product/services you offer the marketplace but I am electing to talk first about expenses.
You all are living. You have money coming in and going out. We need to establish where it all is going. KEEP RECORDS. All business do. In fact most businesses have accurate records going back 5-10 years. I advocate at least 1 year of spending records by MONTH. This means you can look back on identical months from last year to gain historical insight into what you might expect this year. Dah! The next thing is to have a 3 month budget looking into the future. List all you expenses you expect for each month for the next 3 months. Write down everything. PAY YOURSELF! Include in a budget, $10, $20 or more a week for yourself. Then every Monday (or whatever day you pick), Write yourself a check. Remember you are a business and you get to pay yourself a salary as meager as it may be. When a month is gone, keep track of what you actually spent against what you thought you’d spend and you can refer to it next year. When a month is gone, MAKE A NEW 3 MONTH BUDGET.
ANDREWS RULES:
1. BUILD UP EXCESS CASH in your checking account to cover
unexpected expenses. Timing of payments also gets involved.
2. PAY EXPENSES ON TIME.
3. PAY CREDIT CARD EXPENSES ON TIME. Never pay interest charges
on credit cards. I didn’t say “don’t use credit cards”.
4. NEVER, NEVER carry an outstanding balance on credit cards.
You can rationalize anything you want. MY OPINION is to get
rid of credit card debt.
5. The only thing you should borrow money for are HOUSES AND CARS.
The people that get you to finance other things are “God-damned
blood sucking a-holes” to use Margaret’s phraseology. She is
right. Come on! 20% interest rates. 25% interest rates.
Ridiculous.
6. ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOU MONEY IS GOING. It is your money. If
your business fails it is because you don’t get enough income
or you don’t control expenses or both.
In the interst of keeping things short and crisp, I am ending this discussion. I will expand later. REMEMBER, ONLY YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR BUSINESS EXPENSES.
Dad (Just Chas.)

By some of the questions I have already received, there is the perception that I am done sending financial advice. I’ve just begun. Every 3-4 days I will address additional subjects. I am starting slow. If I were you I’d print out each musing.
Now, each person is his/her own business. We need to call ourselves Deborah Andrews, Incorporated or Christopher Andrews, Incorporated. Each person has a set of skills and values that it brings to the marketplace and somebody pays for those skills or values. When you go to work for somebody, they pay you money (remember my first session). Once you receive the money for your services, you spend it on different things. IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED, YOU NEED TO SPEND LESS THAN YOU MAKE. If you can’t produce positive cash, then you need to earn more or spend less OR BOTH.
For example, Paul Andrews, Incorporated is struggling. His company has cash coming in from spousal income and the company spending habits are high including predictable monthly expenses. Paul Andrews, Incorporated has made a stategic decision to increase the value of the service he will be offering by going to school to get a bachelors degree. This will improve the amount of new money coming in long term which in addition to spousal income, should produce significant “new money”. In the meantime, grants, aids, and student loans keep the business going. Once Paul Andrews, Inc. goes to market to offer the improved product (himself), he needs to manage the newly found cash wisely to keep the company on sound foundation.
As you look at yourself as your own business, you’ll find that it takes time to manage effectively. Yes my children. Planning, budgets, cash management and retirement allocations become important.
Kelly, Incorporated offers Dr. of Chiropratic Services. Chris, Inc. offers earth moving supervision/management services. Margaret, Inc. offers skills in computer software management. Maximize the income from those skills.
There will be much more to come on managing yourself as a business. You are important. Your have skills. Maximize the income from those skills.
Patience Paul. Oh thee with many questions waiting for magic answers.
Love
Dad (Just Chas)

Here we go. Jan. 1, 2005 and “Just Chas.” gets to share his view of life and money with his kids and others before the Grim Reaper appears.
I want to qualify the musings by stating that they are my simplistic beliefs about money, how it works, and how it affects each and every one of us. It is my perverted view of the world. Ask questions! I can do without the snide remarks about my having lobster on New Years. If you become a good student, you too can have lobster on New Years (and lots of other days).
Okay, I’m going to use the Lombardi method of teaching. At his first meeting with the team at the beginning of a season, he held up the pigskin and said, “this is a football”. Max Magee stood up and said, “slow down coach, you’re going to fast”. If I’m going to fast for you let me know.
Imagine (if you minds permit), that I am holding a dollar bill in my hand. “This is money”. Remember it. If affects everything you do all your life. You need it. Get some! Get lots!
Money by definition is coin and paper used as a medium of exchange. You want something, you need coin. You sell something, you get coin. Terrific concept, huh? My mother used to say “she didn’t have a pot to pee in”. I guess that came from the pre-Chuckie days when there weren’t always indoor toilets and people used pots to relieve themselves until they could empty them. Not having a pee pot must be pretty bad.
Why do you need money? In case your kids leave water running in the upstairs bath tub and you flood the lower kitchen floor while you are outside mowing the lawn. You need money. If your kid steps on the brake of the car while a buddy is tailgating too close and there is a sudden crash. You need money. If you lose a front tooth and must replace it. You need money. If a room-mate moves out and you are left with paying the rent by yourself, you need money. If you expect 50 patients in a month and you get 20, that sucks and you also need money. You get the idea.
You also need money for food, cars, clothing, toiletries, home, utilities, school, entertainment, kids, art and opera. Opera? Whatever lights you fire. I can’t anticipate everybodies expenses, but life is continuous need for money.
Enough for today. I know it is exhausting to absorb such a complicated subject. If you remember nothing else, Money is your way of procuring stuff.
If you want to be remembered like Max Magee, ask a question. Good ahead. I dare you!
Just Chas.

I know everybody has been waiting with bated breath for pearls of wisdom to roll out of the lips of the “oracle of Appleton” (me). Actually my plan was to start the New Year with my advice on living life and getting rich quick. I know the second part “getting rich quick” is the subject that interests everybody.
Now to keep things in perspective, I had had multiple walking partners this last morning of the year and I learned that bowling, driving cars fast and “shop till you drop” is what is important. Actually money is what allows you to do what is fun in life. My walking partners understand the “fun” part.
The flip side of having fun and spending money is getting your hands on the green currency. That will be a major part of this website so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I’d like to wish each and every visitor to this site a VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. Note the inclusion of the word prosperous.
Just Chas.

Dear Dad,
It is with much happiness that I am able to give to you this website for Christmas. This project has developed out of the immense respect and trust your children – all of us – have for you and your vast and wide wisdom (with a teeny, tiny hint from you of course *wink, wink*). Who would have guessed you wanted a website?! As usual, you’re ahead of the technical curve. What will all the other dad’s say when you tell them you have a blog?!!!
I look to you as a guide father, as I always have, because I love and trust you.
So what *I* personally hope to get out of this website is a daily chuckle, “A-Ha” moment, Andrews Rule, piece of financial wisdom, or any other life guidance you always have and always will freely and happily dispense for your family.
Merry Christmas dad.
Love,
Margaret

There are times where the light bulb goes on. Somebody says something and it changes your thought pattern, luckly for me it was my dad where one of those moments happened.
I believe we were on the 5th hole after two pretty good drives by both of us, waiting for the group ahead of us to move along. The day was perfect, a summertime perfect. As we waited in the cart he put his arm around me and said I could ask any question I wanted and he would give me his “divine” wisdom.
I said that I just wanted to be happy so “what is happiness”. It was a joke question really, I mean who really knows what happiness is. I got two answers, both divine in their wisdom. The first…..
“Happiness is stupidity”, the though pattern is that we need to be just stupid enough not to know any better. what a great answer and lets face it, don’t we all want to be just stupid enough to think everything is great.
The second….
“Happiness is continual improvement”. This one took a little bit to sink in but how can you argue the logic. Just knowing we are getting a little better at something is enough to allow happiness to creep in.
This was my light bulb moment, it is that comment that pushed me forward to finish school, to try to always better myself and my family and will be the wisdom that I will, when the time is right, pass along to my kids.
As a dad myself I hope that I can have that kind of influence on my kids someday, to let them know “be stupid enough to think that continual improvement can make you happy”.
Merry Christmas Dad, enjoy the new outlet to let people all over the world basque in your divine wisdom.
Love
Paul

My dad gave me one dollar bill
’cause I’m his smartest son.
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
’cause two is more than one!
And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes—I guess he don’t know
That three is more than two!
Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just ’cause he can’t see
He gave me four nickles for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!
And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool game me five pennies for them,
and five is more than four!
And then I went and showed my dad,
and he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head-
too proud of me to speak!
– Shel Silverstein