I Must Be "Old Fashioned"....

I must be getting old because I've discovered lately that I'm really "Old Fashioned".

Here's a few reasons I'm thinking this is the case.
1. I Hate Digital Clocks.
When I learned to tell time it was on an analog clock & can still remember seeing my first "digital" clock. I thought they were cool & all, but I still prefer to tell time on an Analog dial face clock. I just get a better "feel" for what time it is that way...and yes, my watch is an Analog one....

2. I Love Wind-up "Ticking" Clocks.
I absolutely love the sound of a clock "ticking". Not the sound a watch makes or an electric clock ticking from one second to another, but the real, honest-to-goodness sound of a wind-up clock "Tick-tock, tick-tock". Such a classic sound!

For Christmas this year I wanted a real wall clock that actually "ticked" with a pendulum & everything. It's pretty much the only thing I wanted....Val was nice enough to get me one & now I have the sound of a legitimate "ticking" clock with real chimes hanging on the wall. It's so cool!

3. I Hate Texting!
I don't understand the purpose of "texting" on cell phones. My view is...it's a phone! Pick it up & call someone instead of "typing something to them".

I tried to figure out texting once but never got the hang of it. So, if you want to get ahold of me, CALL me, don't send me a text. I'll just look at it wierd....


4. I'm Not A Fan Of "Electronic Day Planners".
When I was in College, the big rage was to use "digital day planners" like a Palm Pilot or the windows versions of them (can't even remember what they're called). Anyway, I got one & gave it a try for a few years....and, well, after it lost all my data a couple times & the screen cracked I vowed to go back to paper. I pulled out an old Franklin Day Planner, got new filler for it & haven't looked back since. A mechanical pencil makes a great "input" and "delete" device too...


5. I Don't Understand The Purpose Of Reality Shows
When I grew up TV actually had really good TV shows that made you think or at least were "entertaining". Ever since "The Survivor" hit the boob tube, life on TV has never been the same. I just don't understand this whole "reality TV" thing! I want my old TV Shows back. Sitcoms have turned into complete garbage (the last "good" sitcome was Boston Legal and it's now ended). About the only TV I can stand to watch these days is PBS (some cool documentary or concert or educational program) or the news.

6. I Don't Like Changing Things Much...about me that is...
Val took a long time to break me of wearing the same old clothes. And I've just now started accepting the idea that it's OK to rearrange the furniture every couple years (My thought is, "Hey, there was nothing wrong with where it was before....why do we have to 'move it around'?")


7. I Prefer To Work For A Living
I don't understand how people can stand to not work & mooch off the government & live with themselves. I've been reading about people out there that specifically quit their job just to go on welfare so that they don't have to work "because Uncle Sam will foot the bill".....


8. I Believe In Capitalism And The American Way
I don't understand this whole "bail-out" of the US Car Industry. For too many years these guys made crappy cars, refused to figure out the Union problem issues, and ignored the fact that Toyota & Honda were kicking their butts.

And now they've come up with a way to get you & I "Joe Tax Payer" to pay their stupid bills because they "can't compete in the global market". Yo, GM, I've got news for you, ya build crappy cars! That's why you're in trouble! People quit buying them!

I just heard where GMAC was just approved to become a bank and now will have access to that 700 billion (I wasn't a fan of that either). And, GM announced that it'll need "long term aid" pretty much going forward indefinitely. Ugh! Just let the dang thing die! It's called CAPITALISM!!!

If ya make a crappy product or you run your business poorly, don't expect the government to come & bail your sorry butt out! (which is EXACTLY what we're doing by the way! Bailing out companies that couldn't figure out how to compete in the global market place by giving them our tax dollars to further squander--GM expects to lose over $16 Million A MONTH!!!! Hello???? Does that sound like a wise investment for the US Taxpayer to make? I don't think so!!!

I have a business degree & the events over the last couple months go against everything in the capitalistic society of the United States that I've been taught.

I guess the rule now is, "Hey, if ya screw up & run a crappy business, not to worry! Uncle Sam will come & bail ya out!"

9. I Believe In Being Debt Free
Debt scares the living crap out of me. It always has. Unlike so many people out there, I hate debt. I have no consumer debt and don't plan to have any in the near future (all cars are paid for, credit cards are at $0.00 balance, and we have savings put away).

Some may say, "Yeah, but you had a really good year with your business this year.."
To which I'll say, "Yep, I did, but before that I lived the same way."

I've always saved money "for a rainy day", even when I was dirt poor in college and I've avoided debt like the plague.

Someone said that when you have debt you're a slave to it. It never goes to sleep, it never takes a nap, it has no mercy. It's always there...with interest ticking away too. I just hate the stuff.

I also heard a story at a fairly young age about debt & interest that has always stuck with me. It goes like this...

One day a very successful business man called in his assistant to teach him some of the lessons he'd learned in his time....the conversation went like this.

"Junior, I'd like to teach you something today but first I have a question....what can you tell me about interest?"

The young assistant rattled off how interest was money paid on dividends, the rule of 72, mortgages, and a bunch of other technical things about interest".

"No, no, no" said the old man, "I just want to know the basics"...
So the assistant rattled off some simple concepts about interest.
"No, that's not what I'm looking for"
Bewildered, the assistant gave up and asked, "So what were you looking for?"
"Well, when it comes to interest, there's two things you need to know."
Not understanding, the assistant asked, "What do you mean?"

Junior, the two things you need to know about interest is that there's two types of people. Dems that understands interest, and dems that pays it...get that down and you'll be alright."

That fact has ALWAYS stuck with me and ever since that time I've vowed that where possible, I will never pay interest on anything, or only when absolutely necessary.

For some reason I'm "old fashioned" when it comes to that though since we bought less of a house than we qualified for on a FIXED interest rate, drive cars that aren't brand spanking new, and don't eat out every night of the week and I don't have credit cards that are completely maxed out (in fact 99% of the time they don't carry a balance & when they do they get paid off the same month).

Here's another quick tip on money. It's an easy one too.

Spend less than you make. Live that way all the time.
If you do, you'll be able to have pretty much anything you could ever want. It's amazing how that concept works. Take my word on that one. Oh yeah, and save the rest. It might come in handy someday....

But, hey, I guess in 2009 some of these "old fashioned" idea's of mine may actually be to my benefit.

Anyone up for listening to the sweet sound of my "ticking & chiming" clock?
Maybe I can share a couple other of my "old fashioned" habits as well...

-Graydon
The Old Fashioned Guy In Syracuse