Death By a Thousand Cuts

I walked out to the mailbox yesterday and got the mail out.  As I walked back to the house, I opened a letter from our electric company.  We had just received a bill.  What could this be?  I'll share it with you:

I'm not picking on the electric company.  All of their costs have risen.  They are in the business of making money.  They must pass along the increases.  There's several issues at play, though.  First, I love my job, but wages aren't keeping up with rising prices.  Not just my company but others that I talk to.  Our company just had open enrollment for benefits for 2025.  Health insurance is up by $60 per month.  Deductibles and co-pays are higher and if your service provider is out of network, you'll owe even more.  And yet, our local hospital in our small town just announced a $23 million expansion project.

Homeowner's insurance has increased substantially over the past several years.  I'm understanding that with the renewals coming, it will be yet another double digit percentage increase.  You can shop around, but from what I'm hearing, it's of no benefit.  Every company has increased.  I know of three people that have canceled their property insurance because they cannot afford it.  They can't make their budgets work.  These are widows and retired people that I know.  Imagine that!  People who worked and paid taxes their entire lives and now live on a fixed income and live very frugally and yet, the cost of living has risen such that they can't afford to insure their home.  If a storm comes through or they have a house fire, they have no home.  Our little church can't afford property coverage and we have opted to self-insure, setting a percentage aside each month to fund damage repairs when a hurricane comes through. 

Although we don't grocery shop much, Tricia did shop for ingredients for "Dinner on the Grounds" at church Sunday, and she came in with four little bags and was flabbergasted at the price of their contents.  I've listed a few items, but really, every good and service has increased.  Sadly, many people have run up the balances on their credit cards.  Where does it end?  When does it end?

The wealthy can afford to pay the increases.  The poor are subsidized by the government for food, shelter, medical.  It's really hurting the middle class, though, who don't have disposal income to draw from to pay for the increased costs.  

Families can't print money.  Families must live within a set budget.  Families cannot give away their money prior to making sure that members of their family are taken care of.  Families must make hard decisions.  Make a budget and live within its boundaries.  Live on a cash basis.  If you don't have cash to purchase it, don't purchase it.  Get out of any debt.  Cut out the "fat" in your life.  Do I really need those subscriptions?  $5 coffee?  Gym membership?  With each purchase, ask yourself, "Can I afford it?"  Grow your own food.  Get in shape - physically, mentally, and financially.  Hold your loved ones tight.  Last, but not least, find a small country church and attend regularly.  Read God's Word and grow, living by the wisdom found therein.  Trust in Him.  He'll see you through.

Remembering Times of Silver Dimes

My great-grandmother was born on December 21, 1901 and passed away on October 12, 1987.  We affectionately called her PoPo.  I have many memories of her. She drove an old blue Chevy Nova. She was of short stature and so she had a phone book (the Yellow Pages, I seem to remember) that she would sit on to help her see over the dash.  She lived in a wood frame house with a screen door.  When I would go visit her, she always had a glass candy jar on her table that she'd offer me candies to eat. The candy jar had "Circus Peanuts." You know the big orange, peanut shaped marshmallow candies? My great-grandmother (PoPo's) home wasn't tightly sealed like most homes are today and so the circus peanuts, due to the humidity, would get a little hard in texture, but I ate them nonetheless.

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PoPo's brother, Doc, would visit and from time to time, he'd give me a silver dollar. I always thought that was neat.  PoPo appreciated silver, too, and would take an evaporated milk can and although it had two triangles on either side from being opened with a can opener in order to pour out the contents, she would use a knife or a screwdriver to make a slot in the top center of the can.  This made the can into a piggy bank and she would save every silver dime or quarter she had to give to me, my brother, and sister.  Somewhere in a closet shelf is a heavy little can full of silver dimes and quarters that was scrimped and saved for me by PoPo.

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While the value of the dollar diminishes year by year, silver has held it's value or grown.  Put another way, the purchasing power of the dollar over time has been eroded by inflation. According to THIS WEBSITE it would take $7.74 today to purchase what $1 bought in 1964.  Think about that for a minute.  Inflation is a thief!

United States dimes, quarters, half dollars or dollars minted in 1964 or before contain 90% silver.  In 1965 coins began to be mostly copper-nickel clad, and thus worth considerably less than the silver coins that preceded them.  Benjamin likes to collect coins.  He would have appreciated having PoPo save silver coins for him, but she passed away about 14 years prior to his birth.  To give you an idea of the value of silver coins, Benjamin purchased a 1962 quarter the other day from a coin shop. This quarter that had a face value of $0.25, but cost $3.65 to purchase due to the 90% silver content.

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PoPo was wise.  Time has proven that she's right.  She knew a thing or two about things that hold their value.  I appreciate things that last - things that stand the test of time and retain their value year after year.  I do know that, over time, even precious metals and other things we hold dear are subject to theft, loss, moths, rust and decay.  However, the LORD and His Word are really the only things that stand the test of time and has the greatest worth of all.

The law of the Lord is perfect,

    refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,

    making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right,

    giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,

    giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure,

    enduring forever.

The decrees of the Lord are firm,

    and all of them are righteous.

They are more precious than gold,

    than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

    than honey from the honeycomb.

Psalm 19:7-10