Some life rules

Most of my life lessons these past few years have concerned money in some form or another. It is sad that money has to play such a powerful role in our lives, but that is just how it is.


1. Never a lender or borrower be.
2. Never borrow for someone else, or for a business.
3. Business has no loyalty. Bosses are bosses, not friends.
4. Trust no one in business, for business is business.
5. If it is not in writing it does not exist.
6. If you can't help yourself, you can't help others.
7. Don't follow up bad money with good money.
8. Get paid from the start. Don't wait for later.

#3 is important to remember even if you and the boss start out as friends and as equals. It does not remain that way. If your wealth and position does not closely follow, you will not remain on equal standing friendship-wise.

Basically, never borrow or lend money. That is not to say that you should not keep a credit card for emergency car repairs or vacations. But using a card to upgrade your standard of living is foolish. In the end you lose more than you gain.

Lending money is a fools game. It causes friction in day to day life. It can put you behind, it can put you at risk. Some say limit that to never lending more than you can afford (meaning that it will not break you to lose it), but I say don't lend at all. Give it away instead of lending it. You'll be better served emotionally if you do that.

That goes in directly with "if you can't help yourself, you can't help others." If you put yourself at risk by lending money, find yourself in a bad situation, you can no longer help others in need -Those in real need, not just temporarily in need because they blew their money going out on the weekend. There are those who always need help. Always. Those folks will never be able to help you when you are down because they are always down, never up. If they are ever up, they spend it on themselves first. I've noticed that. They try to justify it to you by saying that they've been down for so long that they deserve to enjoy themselves with their money.

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The new debtors' prison is called a "credit bureau." The sentence is usually 7 to 10 years. Do not serve time for other people's expenses if you can manage it. Do your own time, at your own expense, and for your own expense.