First, a belated Happy Birthday to the father of my favorite son-in-law. The father lives in Wausau and just turned 90. A special family tribute was held.
Second, vote on Tuesday. It is your right. This is your country. Choose good people who share your values.
Lastly, “The Apple Jar”. Many, many years ago when I was in my “teen years”, our family was always struggling financially. Life was “pay day to pay day”. My mother had developed her own system of squirreling away cash for a rainy day. If she could save some cash, she would put it in a red apple shaped jar in the kitchen cupboard. I guess the idea was that nobody would ever suspect she had money hidden there. I remember needing cash for something special and she pulled the jar out of the cabinet and gave me a $20 bill. I asked her how much she has stashed in the jar, but all I got was a smile.
With all the devestation from hurricane Sandy, Easterners are flocking to ATM machines for cash. With no electricity, the ATM’s don’t work. Alas, no cash. When the electricity works, the ATM’s are running out of cash because everybody wants some. Again no cash.
Rejoice, if you can’t get cash from an ATM, you might use your credit card (or debit card). But if the electricity is out, credit cards don’t work. Even if your local store (a grocer for example) has electricity, the card has to be cleared through a central credit service in another location. There is the chance that the central credit service won’t have electricity to grant the needed approval. Again, no money available.
That brings me full circle. In an emergency, cash is king. My advice is to do what my mother did before there were ATM’s and credit cards. Create your own Apple Jar Stash for a rainy day. You never know when an emergency is headed your way.
It is amazing the wisdom of my Mom.
Love,
Dad