Financial Foibles

After hearing about Donny T's most recent financial judgment against him, I found myself wondering if Don the Con would finally be taken down a peg this time. Because he's so hung up on being a rich guy, having his finances take a hit may be more damaging to him than other accusations he's faced. (On a side note, has anyone noticed he's stopped talking about E. Jean Carroll? I guess after that $83 million kick in the balls, he finally learned to shut his mouth about her.) 

Money is a difficult subject for some people to discuss. Some people are very hung up on the kind of financial picture they present to others. I know people who live above their means because they want to project an image of financial security that they don't really have. I'm not one of those people. I've said this before, but I'll say it again. There are things that may shame me in life, but money isn't one of them. I have no problem telling someone I can't afford something. I'm not the kind of person who would buy a $3,000 bag and then not be able to pay my bills for the next two months. I've lived hand-to-mouth and it's not something I share a lot with others, but it's not something I'm ashamed of either. I've come a long way since then and I try to live within my means. When I bought a car last summer because my used Volkswagen was having more issues than it was worth, I purchased a car I could afford, a Nissan. Yes, I would have liked to have bought a new Volvo, but I didn't have Volvo money. I did have Nissan money, so that's what I went with. When I moved from New York to Illinois about 10 years ago, I downgraded my cost of living significantly and I was able to save some money and buy my own place. When I bought my co-op, one of my aunts asked why I didn't buy a house. I told her, "I can't afford a house in the area where I live." And I couldn't! Even rinky-dink houses here cost over $300K and I don't make the kind of money to afford a mortgage like that. 

New York Magazine has a story in its current edition about a woman who got scammed out of $50K. This woman is a financial writer and she got scammed. The story was ridiculous for many reasons but, for me, I just couldn't figure out how this woman actually thought that someone from Amazon would put her in touch with the CIA when they suspected she had fraud on her account. Bezos is not working in tandem with the CIA, lady. Give me a break. The US government doesn't care about your Amazon account. There were other red flags this woman ignored, but that one stood out to me. We all need to be smarter about the financial decisions we make in life. You live and, hopefully, you learn from your mistakes.