Blog Dis
For the lust of money
2025-05-06
I've never been one to purchase lottery tickets on a regular basis, not like some who shell out $20-$100 every freakin' week, buying up heaps of tickets that basically go absolutely nowhere real fast. The odds, as we all know, are not stacked in your favour, in some cases hundreds of millions to one. A person is better off saving that money into an investment account that would accumulate interest.
Funny thing about money: it grows or it spends, which all depends on how you handle it.
Presently, I've admitted myself into money-prison, to willingly enter into a belt-tightening phase because the release of my seventh novel POM, which was only launched in Oct 2024, cost me upwards of $9,000 to cover all expenses: principal editing, copy editing, proofreading, cover graphic design, author website re-design and every other incidental expense like new banners, business cards; expenses that will continue to roll in, every time I think of something else that I missed, or that I intend to get, such as another new banner. This is the primary difference between being an India author and a self-published author. The former means the author must shell out coin to sub-contract out the services to other professionals, to complete all the various elements that make up each stage of the release process — while the latter is handled entirely by the author, even designing their own cover, editing, and the like. I wouldn't personally recommend the latter approach but this is just me.
And so, my travel budget was blown to smithereens in 2024 by my new novel release, tho' I prepared for this because I ensured there was enough capital set aside to cover these aforementioned expenses. To rebuild one's travel account requires me to cut-back on future expenses. There are daily, weekly, monthly expenses that'll present themselves, whether I want them to or not. This is the nature of living in the Modern age: you cannot avoid bills. But then have humans ever been without debt or expenses? Not at all, in fact. If you travel back in time to the 1800s, during a period when wealth was really beginning to take off, you would've survived on an annual income of $180 to $200 U.S. per year for an entire family. Kellogg, the originator of Kellogg's Corn Flakes literally earned over $100,000 per month in the late 1900s - 1894 to be exact, when his cereal was released. Kellogg was considered stinking, filthy rich and his lifestyle afforded him with every conceivable luxury, living a life of complete and total privilege. In today's standards, Kellogg would be a Billionaire, pulling in at least $1 billion per month, if you compare w/ the $100,000 per month he made in the late 1900s. It simply staggers my mind trying to imagine how much money this would've been, for someone to earn at this time, especially when lending institutions like banks and brokers could go bust. With Kellogg's hugely popular and fast-selling product of corn flakes, the money would have rolled in, unabated.
I, of course, am not in this position. I'm not a pauper nor do I consider myself to be wealthy in the pocket book. Thankfully I don't support such gargantuan bills as a mortgage or car payments or kids. Yet, the cost of living isn't cheap, especially in my city, known by its nickname as Fat City. The trick is to not be a materialistic person and to be able to live within one's means. So when I force myself into belt tightening mold, it means I forego luxuries like expensive meals in restaurants, fine bottles of wine, frivolous bobbles and trinkets and doodads. Money will be spent on the basic necessities: rent, groceries, utilities and Internet service. My outdoor activity of cycling doesn't cost me money daily, only when I need to purchase a service from the bike shop or to replace a worn-down part. This is all I really need to survive.
Belt tightening is an experiment in the marginalization of habits. Perhaps this attitude comes at the perfect time in my life insofar that it will remind me how to save and account for every penny. Too often we forget about this mindset until we are actually thrust into this position of staring down a massive debt.
We all fantasize about winning lotteries. One friend told me how she'd love to know what it feels like to be a billionaire just for one year. "Not me!" I said in return. "I don't want to know what that burden is like, lemme tell you." Billionaires have to be concerned with protecting themselves against people coming after their money. And if they have small children or an extended family, this concern must also be brought into the picture of protecting these people from fraud and other crimes, like being kidnapped. Having gobs of money can translate into gobs of problems.
One multi-millionaire admitted a harsh truth on a TV show devoted to people who won big in a lottery. After he won $80 million in a New York State lottery, he lost all his friends, his marriage and stopped speaking with two brothers. It happened when he sat down with his brothers to make a gift to them of $1 million each. The brothers pretended to be satisfied but after leaving, they hired a lawyer with the money they received from him and filed a lawsuit against their brother, stating that he had in fact agreed to give them $5 million each, not just one million. His brothers were prepared to act as witnesses for each other and take a stand against their brother - all for the lust of money. The brother who won the millions didn't see it coming. He broke down into tears telling this story. Eventually, he moved out of his hometown to another state, to ensure that he was anonymous. He said in the town where he grew up, he was no longer able to walk down the street without someone pretending to have been injured by him, all for the purpose of being able to file a lawsuit against him, for damages. His advice to those winning it big: hire a lawyer and draw up papers that state you're not responsible for the debt that your gift of money to them may cause, or that you didn't agree to give them more, or even a future promise that you'd give them yet more money if some extraordinary and unforeseen expense came down the pike.
Luxury is in the eye of the beholder. Luxury for me is clean sheets and a separate living space, the power to afford my own standard of living and to enjoy good health, food and the company of family and friends. If you have these aforementioned items, well my friend then you're well on your way to being wealthy.
Funny thing about money: it grows or it spends, which all depends on how you handle it.
Presently, I've admitted myself into money-prison, to willingly enter into a belt-tightening phase because the release of my seventh novel POM, which was only launched in Oct 2024, cost me upwards of $9,000 to cover all expenses: principal editing, copy editing, proofreading, cover graphic design, author website re-design and every other incidental expense like new banners, business cards; expenses that will continue to roll in, every time I think of something else that I missed, or that I intend to get, such as another new banner. This is the primary difference between being an India author and a self-published author. The former means the author must shell out coin to sub-contract out the services to other professionals, to complete all the various elements that make up each stage of the release process — while the latter is handled entirely by the author, even designing their own cover, editing, and the like. I wouldn't personally recommend the latter approach but this is just me.
And so, my travel budget was blown to smithereens in 2024 by my new novel release, tho' I prepared for this because I ensured there was enough capital set aside to cover these aforementioned expenses. To rebuild one's travel account requires me to cut-back on future expenses. There are daily, weekly, monthly expenses that'll present themselves, whether I want them to or not. This is the nature of living in the Modern age: you cannot avoid bills. But then have humans ever been without debt or expenses? Not at all, in fact. If you travel back in time to the 1800s, during a period when wealth was really beginning to take off, you would've survived on an annual income of $180 to $200 U.S. per year for an entire family. Kellogg, the originator of Kellogg's Corn Flakes literally earned over $100,000 per month in the late 1900s - 1894 to be exact, when his cereal was released. Kellogg was considered stinking, filthy rich and his lifestyle afforded him with every conceivable luxury, living a life of complete and total privilege. In today's standards, Kellogg would be a Billionaire, pulling in at least $1 billion per month, if you compare w/ the $100,000 per month he made in the late 1900s. It simply staggers my mind trying to imagine how much money this would've been, for someone to earn at this time, especially when lending institutions like banks and brokers could go bust. With Kellogg's hugely popular and fast-selling product of corn flakes, the money would have rolled in, unabated.
I, of course, am not in this position. I'm not a pauper nor do I consider myself to be wealthy in the pocket book. Thankfully I don't support such gargantuan bills as a mortgage or car payments or kids. Yet, the cost of living isn't cheap, especially in my city, known by its nickname as Fat City. The trick is to not be a materialistic person and to be able to live within one's means. So when I force myself into belt tightening mold, it means I forego luxuries like expensive meals in restaurants, fine bottles of wine, frivolous bobbles and trinkets and doodads. Money will be spent on the basic necessities: rent, groceries, utilities and Internet service. My outdoor activity of cycling doesn't cost me money daily, only when I need to purchase a service from the bike shop or to replace a worn-down part. This is all I really need to survive.
Belt tightening is an experiment in the marginalization of habits. Perhaps this attitude comes at the perfect time in my life insofar that it will remind me how to save and account for every penny. Too often we forget about this mindset until we are actually thrust into this position of staring down a massive debt.
We all fantasize about winning lotteries. One friend told me how she'd love to know what it feels like to be a billionaire just for one year. "Not me!" I said in return. "I don't want to know what that burden is like, lemme tell you." Billionaires have to be concerned with protecting themselves against people coming after their money. And if they have small children or an extended family, this concern must also be brought into the picture of protecting these people from fraud and other crimes, like being kidnapped. Having gobs of money can translate into gobs of problems.
One multi-millionaire admitted a harsh truth on a TV show devoted to people who won big in a lottery. After he won $80 million in a New York State lottery, he lost all his friends, his marriage and stopped speaking with two brothers. It happened when he sat down with his brothers to make a gift to them of $1 million each. The brothers pretended to be satisfied but after leaving, they hired a lawyer with the money they received from him and filed a lawsuit against their brother, stating that he had in fact agreed to give them $5 million each, not just one million. His brothers were prepared to act as witnesses for each other and take a stand against their brother - all for the lust of money. The brother who won the millions didn't see it coming. He broke down into tears telling this story. Eventually, he moved out of his hometown to another state, to ensure that he was anonymous. He said in the town where he grew up, he was no longer able to walk down the street without someone pretending to have been injured by him, all for the purpose of being able to file a lawsuit against him, for damages. His advice to those winning it big: hire a lawyer and draw up papers that state you're not responsible for the debt that your gift of money to them may cause, or that you didn't agree to give them more, or even a future promise that you'd give them yet more money if some extraordinary and unforeseen expense came down the pike.
Luxury is in the eye of the beholder. Luxury for me is clean sheets and a separate living space, the power to afford my own standard of living and to enjoy good health, food and the company of family and friends. If you have these aforementioned items, well my friend then you're well on your way to being wealthy.
