John Manley, "The Lord of the Liver" | Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Stress Of Owning A LG 32″ 720p LCD HDTV
Eating organic food that hasn’t been sprayed down with poisonous chemicals is looked upon as some type of luxury.
Owning a LG 32″ 720p LCD HDTV (with Picture Wizard), however, is just a necessity of life.
The average American household owes $75,000 (according CNN Money).
About $10,000 of that is credit card debt (paying for those 32” TVs).
The rest is mortgages, student loans, auto insurance, medical debt and late fees on movie rentals.
Currently, Bloomberg reports currently U.S. consumers owe over $2.5 trillion in debt.
Meeting just the minimum payments (without incurring any more debt) would take 25-40 years to pay off. And that’s assuming the interest rate averages 10%.
When something is not paid for, I believe this puts major stress on the mind. The transaction isn’t complete. There’s an “open loop.”
And the longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes to pay off. And so the stress gains interest also.
I’ve personally gone without many “comforts” to avoid the greater discomfort of debt:
I’ve slept on an air mattress for well over a year because I couldn’t afford a bed.
I then slept on the floor when the air mattress sprung a leak.
Granted, my situation is a bit extreme. My wife suffers from kidney failure and my son is blind. It’s not the most productive situation.
And, yes, despite my sacrifices, I still have a fair bit of debt to deal with. Most of it I incurred while dealing with such life-and-death challenges.
Which is probably one of the few places debt comes in handy. Better to go into debt than to starve to death.
But better to go without an iPad than go into debt.
Sadly, our culture’s commercially-dictated actions leads us to try to save money in all the wrong places.
Sure, you can save money going through the McDonald’s drive-thru. Or you can save time not exercising. Or you can pop a pill instead of dealing with your high cholesterol. But ten or twenty years later the neglect of the body builds up “interest.” Interest in the form of disease, a fried brain, poor sleep and chronic stress.
We’ve all heard the old (wise) expression: “Man spends first half of life losing health to get money. Man spends last half of life losing money to get back health.”
Obviously some debt is necessary. If you need to go into debt to stay alive or grow a business or own a home (before you turn 75), then this may be unavoidable.
But when you’re going into debt to satisfy an emotion… this usually doesn’t work.
I’ve never paid for cable TV. People say to me: “How do you relax? TV is the only way I can relax.”
Honestly, 30-minutes of quiet meditation, reading a book or playing a musical instrument rejuvenates me more than 24 hours of watching Jack Bauer beat up terrorists in between commercial breaks.
And meditation is free.
Books are also pretty affordable. There’s also this place called a library which lends them out.
Musical instruments come with some considerable upfront costs but they pay back tenfold.
So much of what we think we need — we could easily live without or find healthier substitutes for.
Organic food can be quite affordable if you change your diet a little. Eating organic meat three times a day gets pricey. Eat more beans and you’ll save a fortune. Dried organic kidney beans cost 80% less than beef or milk (when you compare their protein content).
Likewise, there are often simple health solutions for overcoming most of human ills. Simple solutions that will produce zero profit for drug companies.
I’m not against buying things. But loans and credit cards take away the reality that these things cost money. Money that you’ll have to pay back. When you do the work first, you weigh very carefully whether what you’re going to get in exchange was worth the work you ALREADY put forth.
I know people who eat out at restaurants every single night. They pay cash. They work hard and don’t want to come home and cook. They’d rather work a 10-hour days rather than do their own cooking (which is just more work anyways).
I couldn’t agree more.
For two years we had our own housekeeper. And I worked, worked, worked. Money was good. And I’d rather be doing what I do than cooking and cleaning. Plus, I made more than I had to pay the housekeeper. So I provided employment for someone else, while earning a “profit” on the difference.
We had some setbacks last year. Unexpected expenses and inconsistencies in our income. So housekeeper had to go (for now). And we’re back to doing what we got to do.
And you know what… whether I have a housekeeper or not… whether I sleep on the floor or a bed… whether I have a fancy mobile phone or a 1980’s clunker… I’m “the same.” These things really don’t make much difference in my happiness.
Living within my means, following my conscience and preparing for emergencies… these things do make a big difference in my level of happiness.
1 out 7 North Americans has at least 10 credit cards (according to MyBudget360.com).
This shows, as a people, we’re looking for “something” where it can’t be found.
We’re turning in directions that make other people rich at our expense.
Turn within. Think differently than the masses.
This is the “big idea” behind Liver Snacking. Liver Snacking isn’t just about a super-simple approach to balance your health. Liver Snacking is a state of mind. It’s about bringing balance to your entire life.
It’s not just about being master of your liver. It’s about being master of your life.
It’s not about overcoming compulsive eating… it’s about overcoming all forms of compulsion.
Right now, there are 600 million active credit cards in the United States. The population of the country is only 312 million.
46% of the population carried a balance from month to month. Since children can’t get credit cards (yet) that’s a staggering number.
At the same time unemployment is rising. Nations are going bankrupt. And 48 million Americans are on food stamps.
The lemmings are marching towards the cliff.
Break off from the pack.
Think long-term. Think different. Be free.
John “The Lord of the Liver” Manley
www.LiverSnacking.com
P.S. I used to suffer from horrible back and neck pain. It was costing me $100/week in chiropractic treatment. That was about $95 more than I could afford to pay. So I figured out what was causing my back pain and how to get rid of it. A lot of what I used can be found in the Healthy Back Institutes free introductory book: The 7 Day Back Pain Cure.
P.P.S. For more about living within your means and avoiding stress check out this article: How A 99¢ Telephone Made Me Healthier