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Meditation

Life is crazy.

“Really, Jason, that’s news?”

I spend so much time going in so many different directions.

Cleaning out our inherited hoarding house, managing the remodel, work, side hustles, kids, friends, family, relationships, maintaining our house, maintaining a relationship with my wife, garage sales, school starting, junior high football season, insurance policies, probate, rush hour, insomnia.

Some days, I feel insanely scattered. I can’t focus. I have a hard time making decisions. I waste time.

Those days, I need to clear my head.

That’s where meditation comes in.

I don’t do the money hum. (Om mone padme, Om)

Instead, I have three activities that demand a total focus. They drive out any scattered thoughts or unimportant concerns.

They have to because, quite frankly, they can be dangerous if I don’t concentrate.

1. I shave. I use a double-edged safety razor, so bleeding for the throat is a real concern. For 10 minutes, nothing else in the world matters. It has only recently struck me how valuable this is. That value makes me want to start shaving every day, with a straight razor. More focus, more often.

2. I ride. For the past couple of years, it’s been hard to find time get my motorcycle out. Small children seem to want attention every day. It got to the point where I was ready to sell my bike. This spring, it was seriously misbehaving. Finally, at the end of the summer, a friend got it running better than it ever has. I took it out for a couple of hours and came back feeling more clearheaded than I have in a long time. I won’t be selling my bike until I have its replacement.

3. I shoot. Shooting involves a series of simple actions that require concentration to do well. Load the gun, line up the sights, which eye is dominant, breathe, don’t breathe, squeeze the trigger, hole in the paper. Again, it’s not an activity that’s conducive to worrying about the bills or work. It’s a way to shut out the world for a few minutes.

For me, a few moments or a few hours of shutting down everything except one thing is the way to stay sane and focused.

How do you deal with it when the world comes crashing in from every direction?

Getting Started With Precious Metals

Finance

Precious metals are a fairly reliable investment. The price rises and falls like anything else, but there will always be value. They will never be worthless.

If you have some preparedness tendencies, it’s reassuring to know that you own a form of money that has intrinsic value. In the case of runaway inflation like so many countries–from Argentina to Zimbabwe–have had to deal with, it may be the only thing you can spend to put food on the table.

Unfortunately, we’re close to the top of gold and silver prices. Ten years ago, gold was selling for $320/ounce and silver was $4.76/ounce. At this moment, they are $1572.82 and $27.28, respectively. Those prices can make it hard to break into precious metals as an investment.

But there’s a cheaper way.

It’s called junk silver. Junk silver is the term used when you’re talking about coins with real silver that have no–or very little–collectible value. Their value is based on the silver they contain.

Silver coins used to be the standard. Until 1964, the U.S. made it’s dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and dollar coins out of 90% silver. Our money had real value, then. Now, they are mostly copper, with a bit of nickel to make it the right color.

Since real-money coins have been out of circulation for 50 years, they can be hard to find in the wild, but it is easy to check a pile of change. You don’t have to look at the dates, just stack up the coins and look at the edges.

With real money, the coins are silver the whole way through, like the first picture. With modern “put your faith in the government’s promises” money, you can see the copper shining through. It’s astounding quick to scan through hundreds of coins to yank out the silver.

Is it worth it? How much is an old quarter worth?

A quarter weighs 1/4 of an ounce and the pre-1965 quarters contained 90% silver.

But wait.

That 1/4 of a standard ounce and silver is measured in troy ounces. Crap, what’s the standard-to-troy conversion?

°C x 9/5 + 32 = °F? No.

$a^2 + b^2 = c^2\!\,$ ? No.

E = mc²? No

One dollar of perfect-condition 90% silver coins contains 0.7234 troy ounces of silver. Circulated, they are assumed to contain 0.715 troy ounces of silver, due to wear. The exceptions are Morgan and Peace dollars which contain 0.7736 troy ounces of silver.

Zero point what now?

Don’t worry, you don’t have to remember the numbers. Round it off and keep it simple!

For easy math, $1 of pre-1965 silver money(dimes, quarters, halves, dollars) contains 3/4 of an ounce of silver.

How does that help?

At today’s price($27.28), that $1 of coins is worth $20.46. A silver dime is worth 1/10 of that, so $2.05. A quarter is worth $5.12. Easy.

Where do you buy junk silver? Any coin shop will have it, but I usually shop eBay and APMEX. Expect to pay a bit of a markup from any dealer.

That’s how you make precious metals investing quick, cheap, and easy.

1. Scan your change and pull out anything(except nickels) with a completely silver edge. Score!

2. If you’re shopping for silver, know the price at the time, and do the math. $1 = 3/4 of an ounce of silver.

3. Store the silver until the world as we know it ends, then profit.

Are you ~~hoarding silver~~ investing in precious metals?

The End of Litter

Finance, Life

In honor of Earth Day (a day late), I’m going to talk about ending litter.

kitty toilet training phase 3 — Kryptonite?

Not the stuff you find on the street or throw from your car window. I don’t mind that because, on a long enough timeline, everything is biodegradable. Mother Nature is tougher than I am. She can handle my McDonald’s wrappers.

No, I’m talking about the real scourge: cat litter.

We’ve got four of the things, and let me tell you, they make poop. Everyday. I keep telling my wife that they are going to continue making poop as long as we keep feeding them, but she continues to give them food.

For those of you who don’t know, most cats use a litter box, which is a fun pan full of a sand-like mixture of diatomaceous earth and bentonite clay, which trains your cat to use the neighbor kid’s sandbox if you let the little potsticker go outside.

Thanks for that.

So, everyday, our four cats crap in a couple of pans full of sand. Until the sand pans get too full of cat crap. Then, they use the couch.

Who decided this was a good system? Is it a conspiracy of Big Couch to force people to buy new furniture on a regular basis, the way Big Oil suppressed the 1000 mile-per-gallon carburetor, Big Pharma suppressed the cure-all hemlock pill, and Big Sword suppressed world peace during the Dark Ages?

There’s got to be a better way.

Right?

Enter the CitiKitty. It’s the miracle cat potty trainer featured on The Shark Tank.

Here’s how it works:

Move the litter box to the bathroom and start using flushable cat litter.
Once the cats are comfortable with that change, put the CitiKitty on the toilet, under the ring and add litter.
In a week or two, when all of the cats are comfortable with the setup, pop out the center ring of the CitiKitty. This gets the cats used to doing their business over water.
Every couple of weeks, pop out another ring until the cats are used to standing on the slippery ring and crapping directly into the water. Praise the cat when it happens, because cats give a crap about your opinion.
Throw the litter box away and brag to your friends.

Because I love testing things to make my life easier, and I hate cat crap, I gave the thing a try.

It worked great until step 3. Apparently, pooping directly into water is similar to trapping a vampire with running water and causes the cats to panic and find somewhere else to poop, never to return to the bathroom.

There’s really nothing better than stumbling into the living room half asleep, turning on the news and flopping onto the couch, only to find a little lump, still warm, under your butt.

Don’t get me wrong, step 2 was a pain in the neck, too. In order to use the toilet, you have to take the stinking sandbox off of the toilet without spilling litter all over the bathroom, find a place to set it that isn’t disgusting, do your business, put the litter pan back on the toilet, and wash your hands really hard. If you’re a friend of my son’s sleeping over, it’s easier just to not notice the litter box sitting there and top it off in the middle of the night.

It’s a heck of an idea. The best execution I’ve seen for getting a cat to crap in the toilet.

But it doesn’t frickin’ work. If you’ve got a cat using the toilet, I’m guessing you had to sacrifice the neighbor kid to some kind of evil Lovecraftian entity to make it happen, because the CitiKitty didn’t do it.

7 Benefits of Investing Internationally

Business

Foreign Currency When it comes to financial investments, it’s always better to go with an informed decision than one that relies merely on chance – besides, gambling only works when luck’s on your side. Fortunately, international investments are a financially secure and reliable form of investing as long as you know your limitations. So, in keeping with the idea of sound financial decisions, here are seven benefits of investing internationally:

Diversification of Your Funds

A diversified financial portfolio gives investors options in terms of economic fluctuations and, by investing internationally, your finances will have alternative sources of stability. In other words, if your money is spread out among various countries, then an economic crash in one country won’t affect other investments.

It goes without saying that with diversification also comes a learned understanding of various global economies and markets, but with the help of a financial adviser or with a little research, you’ll have the ability to make informed global investments, which is always better than the “eggs in one basket” approach.

Investing Abroad Means More Options

Just like there’s diversification with investing internationally, there are also many options when it comes to the way you want to invest your finances. And, with international investing growing in popularity, the investment options available in today’s market are quickly becoming commonplace.

Three of the most popular forms of international investments are mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), and American depository receipts (ADRs). And, although mutual funds are a common form of investment, ETFs and ADRs trade much like stocks and therefore take a little more financial knowledge to navigate.

International Protection and Confidentiality

If you’re the type of investor that’s worried about financial scares associated with foreclosures and lawsuits, investing internationally has an added advantage of asset protection. With investing abroad, many foreign financial institutions are able to protect your investments from seizure and other threats.

Likewise, investing internationally also comes with confidentiality concerning your finances. International financial institutions are not legally required to divulge your monetary details to anyone. Confidentiality isn’t to say that international investments are exempt from legalities, but they’re entitled to more freedoms.

Investment Growth on an International Level

In terms of household incomes, import/export strengths, younger working populations, and the lean toward free-market economic policies, investing internationally has the potential for more growth than investing in the United States alone, which translates to an increase in return potential in overseas investments.

In fact, according to the International Monetary Fund, the United States is expected to fall below the rest of the world for the next two years when it comes to economic growth. Because of this, companies like Fisher Investments Institutional Group are strategizing toward international investments in strong economic climates across the world.

Currency Diversification Strengthens Portfolios

Much like international investing gives your portfolio safety in numbers as opposed to having all assets invested in one country’s economy, so do currency differences from country to country. In relation to the US dollar, many countries across the world have stronger currencies, which helps boost returns over time.

The flip side of this coin is the idea that fluctuations in currency strengths can just as easily work against your portfolio as they can strengthen it. It’s wise to keep an eye on international currency rates and how they compare to the US dollar, but never invest solely based on rates as a country’s currency can drop in strength overnight.

A Reduction in Taxes

Otherwise known as tax havens, many countries across the world offer attractive tax incentives to foreign investors. These incentives are meant to strengthen other country’s investing environments as well as attract outside wealth.

These tax incentives are particularly attractive to US investors due to the increasingly high taxes in the country. As a result, the United States government is creating more defined restrictions and laws when it comes to international investment tax incentive regulations.

Investment Potential in the United States is Dwindling

Because the United States has both the world’s largest economy and stock market, financial opportunities are almost maxed out due to over-investing. On the other hand, emerging markets in other countries are growing in size and strength, which is quickly resulting in stronger economies and more investment opportunities.

By ignoring the potential of other world markets, you’re also ignoring global economies and stock markets that offer unforeseen investment potential when compared to the United States, which is something every investor should keep in mind.

So, from portfolio diversification to investment growth, investing internationally is a great way to expand your financial horizons.

This is a guest post.

Monica Wright Gets Engaged: How Much Ring is Too Much?

Gossip

It’s love in the land of basketball. If you are a true basketball fan, then you have already heard of the recent engagement of NBA star Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the WNBA star Monica Wright of the Minnesota Lynx. These star basketball professionals have known each other for years, according to recent press reports. The newly-engaged couple has not decided on a wedding date yet, but everyone who is in the world of celebrity basketball knows that the Durant-Wright wedding is going to be one of the top 2014 weddings.

Mums the word on a lot of the details, and that may be because Durant and Wright are trying to adjust to a time of engagement and are trying to let the excitement of this season soak in a little before going full force into wedding planning. Certainly, their busy game and workout schedules are going to keep them busy and make it difficult to plan a wedding. An engagement period should be a time of relaxing with your loved one and celebrating with family and friends through engagement parties. Durant and Wright are sure to have an all-star line up at both their nuptial celebration parties and their actual wedding, but before they get to the big plans, can we please talk about that ring on her finger?

No one has written about Monica Wright’s ring, and there are few details about how large it is. But from photos, it looks huge. Monica Wright has gorgeous hands, and that massive diamond looks great on her slender basketball woman hands. However, we have to ask celebrities: How much ring really is way too much? Celebrities have money to spend, but it a culture that promotes materialism while most of the country struggles to pay for food and to just get by, can’t big-time stars like Durant and Wright make the decision to make a different kind of statement. Cannot there be a celebrity out there who chooses a small diamond, or better yet, a simple band for an engagement ring? Cannot celebrities put there money into projects and people who really need that money? Does every engagement ring have to be dripping with expensive diamonds?

No one is doubting that Monica Wright is beautiful and talented. No one is doubting that Kevin Durant and Monica Wright together can use their money to help those in need. But they also can make a difficult decision to have a different kind of celebrity wedding and engagement ring. I personally would like to see positive role models like Kevin Durant and Monica Wright take a stand for those who are in need through the unconventional way they approach their upcoming nuptials. Who says that a beautiful wedding and engagement ring has to be worth millions of dollars? It is time for celebrities to think through these issues before they start writing endless checks for extravagant affairs. Congrats to the couple!

Happy Father’s Day: The Benefits of Being a Parent Can’t Be Measured

News

It’s true that the benefits of a parent cannot be measured or quantified in any meaningful way. It’s hard to put a price on the emotional commitment and special experience of raising a child as a parent, some of which may not even be realized by the parents themselves until afterwards. But it is undeniable that the experience of parenthood is a rewarding and special time in someone’s life.

An icon illustrating a parent and child (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For one thing, being a parent can you relive your childhood through your child. There are very few experiences in the world that are as intimate and vicarious as a parent who is raising their newborn child into an adult. Your child’s experiences become your experiences, their safety and learning becomes your priorities, and their success, ultimately, become your own success as a parent. You can rediscover the parts of your childhood that you may even have forgot as your child experiences them for the first time.

As a parent, you are also the center of the world for your child. This can be a tremendous source of self-confidence as well as incentive for self-improvement, to know that another human being sees you as their ultimate role model and will grow up in your footsteps. Just imagine the sense of wonder and awe with which you regarded your own parents when you were a child, and apply them to your child. That is the way they will see the world for a long time, with a constant sense of amazement and curiosity. The mundane becomes extraordinary and fantastic to a child, and a parent is part of the magic and the child’s discovery of the world.

In addition, parenting is a rewarding experience because you involved in the creation of a life and the raising of your child with your partner. There is a great amount of pressure, but also a sense of pride as your child’s characteristics and worldview will, in a large part, be derived from your interaction and education of them. All the things that you wish you had done in your childhood, or wish you had experienced or learned about earlier. These are all things that you can teach your child. As a parent, you are your child’s most important friend, teacher and role model. That is a tremendous source of empowerment and responsibility. But the reward you can get out of being a great parent is a new life in the world that you shaped with your words and actions. What you teach them becomes their most important life lessons, and your actions as a role model becomes the standard by which they live the rest of their lives.

So yes, the benefits of being a parent cannot be measured in conventional terms. But these benefits can definitely outweigh any worldly possession or unit of valuation. Parenthood is an emotional, spiritual, intellectual and educational experience that very few other experiences in the world can replace or even come close to imitating.

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