Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

134-May 14

 “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he only had good intentions. He had money as well.”—Margaret Thatcher

When I started thinking about become a prosperous person, I hit a stumbling block. There was a quote from the Bible that worried me for a long time: “It’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.” (I thought for a while it didn’t say rich woman, but somehow I knew that qualification wasn’t going to fly.) I wanted to be a rich person, but I wanted to be a good person and hopefully go to heaven, too. How was I going to do both? I knew that, as a spiritual person, if I felt that money was going to corrupt me, I wasn’t going to allow it into my life. And for years, I didn’t.

Then, one evening, I happened across a television program that featured several religious scholars examining some Biblical statements, taking into account the geography, culture and the era in which it was written. I heard one scholar mention the above quotation and comment that most people misunderstood it. He said that people thought that the needle mentioned was a common sewing needle and therefore, of course, it was impossible for a camel to get through it’s eye. But this scholar laughed and said that “The Eye of the Needle” was the name of a gate in the wall of Jerusalem. And a camel could easily get through it—a moderately laden camel, that is, not a heavily laden camel. This changes the entire message. To me, this suggests that the lesson was only an admonishment to be balanced about wealth, and not overdo it to the point of overburdening your camel!

Leo J. Fishbeck, in his book Sing Your Song For All You’re Worth states “A careful study of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, reveals that the people who were considered to be the most spiritual, those who were the great contributors to enlightened thinking, the most highly regarded, were usually very wealthy people—millionaires by our standards. As we read about their many accomplishments we find that, usually, the account ends with the statement, ‘And he was favored by God.’ According to the ancient authors of the Scriptures, there must be a connection between prosperity and Spirituality.”

Money is a neutral. It will not corrupt you—only your use of it will. The choice to use money for good is always available to you. It is the wealthy who set up charitable foundations, endow hospitals, establish scholarships, promote art, literature, theater, etc. Ted Turner donated one billion dollars to the United Nations. Bill and Melinda Gates funded a charitable foundation with more than twenty billion dollars. You can’t do things like that if you’re broke.

Examine your old beliefs. Are they facts—or just opinions? Are they refutable? Investigate. If they aren’t producing good things in your life, replace them with better thoughts.

Today’s Affirmation: “The perfect order of the Universe is abundance for everyone—including me!”

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Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

133-May 13

“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.”—Sophie Tucker

Your wildest dreams come true: You pick the winning numbers in the lottery and suddenly you are a millionaire!

Now what? What do you do first?

There was a study several years ago that determined the top three things that most winners did—and nearly 90 percent did all of these three things. I will list them for you in reverse order, a la David Letterman:

#3. They buy a new car.

#2. They take a trip. If they were married with children, they go to Walt Disney World in Florida. If they are married without children or single, they go to Hawaii.

#1. The very first thing they all do is say, “This isn’t going to change me.”

That one fearful statement, “This isn’t going to change me,” rang in my consciousness like a clarion call. To me, this is stark evidence that most people have a negative picture of what having money will do to them. Many people in our society grow up with the idea that “dirty money” or “filthy lucre” will somehow corrupt them—that they will become arrogant or miserly and lose all their friends. A nationwide study conducted by the AARP in 2000 showed that the majority of people believed that “lots of money makes people greedy and insensitive.” How are you going to let money in your life if you think having it will make you a bad person? Doesn’t it make sense that if you thought money was a powerful force for good and that having an abundance of money would mean you could make large contributions to worthy causes, that a lottery winner would say instead, “This is really going to change me for the better”?

If you think that having a lot of money will make you a bad person, your internal sense of integrity is probably not going to allow it into your life. You need to change your attitude about having money and being rich if you want more abundance in your life. Make a list of positive things you would do with money if you were wealthy. Why not decide that money will make you a better person?

Today’s Affirmation: “The more money I get, the more money I share.”

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Dad, Mom, and Dad’s best man Ed.

Dear Dolphins,

Yesterday morning, my wonderful father passed serenely into the next life.

He had a lovely Christmas holiday with the family and then started feeling poorly in January. We all thought it might be the flu, but he was losing weight and was abnormally tired. After many doctor visits and tests, the culprit was found.  Dad had bladder cancer, and it had rapidly progressed to stage four.  None of the standard treatments of chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery were recommended at that stage and at his age of 93.

Of course, we were all devastated — we were counting on him living to at least 100!  Dad said he didn’t want any heroic measures and decided to let nature take its course.  At home after the diagnosis, he said, “Well, let’s enjoy the sunshine!” and then quietly, “I’ll see Nell” referring to his beloved wife who had left us suddenly in May of 1989. Dad lived his final days with my sister Jane and her husband Dick in Camarillo with the caring and loving help of Vitas Hospice care.

Much sooner than we were prepared for, he left us to join with God and our loved ones on the other side. We had a wonderful day with him last Saturday, as the family gathered to celebrate his granddaughters’ Marissa and Lindsey’s birthdays. We circled his bedside and said our goodbyes, told him how much we loved and appreciated him. He said he hoped to see us all in the next life and that he loved us all very much. His last words were “I love you” spoken on Monday night. He had been diagnosed with cancer only 4 weeks before!

He slipped into a coma the next day, and Jane, Dick and the hospice nurses arranged 24-hour care. On Tuesday evening, feeling his time was near, Jane, Carole, Marissa, Lindsey, Katie, and I surrounded his bed and sang songs, told stories, laughed, hugged, and celebrated his life. We told him he was loved, he was safe, and he could let go to join his heavenly family. It was a magical evening and we all felt blessed by it.

Jane’s son Robert had been working in Texas and was the only one who had missed the family gathering. He flew in Wednesday to say goodbye to Dad. After Rob told him he loved him, Dad breathed a sigh that seemed to acknowledge Rob’s words, and we feel he was able to let go the next morning after that final goodbye had been said.

We spent yesterday making the arrangements at Rose Hills, where he will have his final resting place next to our beloved mother. When we were arranging for a minister, I told our counselor Sunny (perfect name!) that we had a wonderful minister they sent us from Unity church for mother’s services in 1989. “Do you remember his name?” Sunny asked. “Charles…um,” I said as I hesitated over his last name. “Murphy?” asked Sunny. “That’s it!” I replied, and she said that he was still one of their ministers and she would put in a request for him to be there for us at dad’s services. Isn’t that amazing? Charles is the one who told the beautiful ship story at my mother’s funeral – it’s on page 200 of “The Wealthy Spirit”.

Here is the obituary we have written for him:

Mark Ervin Campbell

11-17-19  –  5-9-13

Mark Campbell, 93, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of May 9^th of cancer. He was born in Seattle, WA, but lived most of his life in Whittier, CA where he and his loving wife, Nell, raised their three daughters.

Mark was a Merchant Marine, in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and served in World War II in the Pacific Theatre. He married the love of his life, Chellie LeNell Livingston, in November of 1943. After the war, received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from M.I.T.  Mark worked as an aerospace scientist for North American Aviation and Rockwell International from 1951 until his retirement in 1990. He worked on  missile and satellite navigation, an automatic fingerprint reader for the FBI, and hardware and software design for the navigation system of the Space Shuttle.

He played the clarinet in a Dixieland Band, loved golf, science fiction, and was becoming a dangerous poker player at family gatherings in his later years. He enjoyed membership in the Huntington Library, the Rockwell IMU group, the First Methodist Church of Whittier M&M group, and all his bridge groups.  A model father and family man, we will miss the twinkle in his eye, the laughter, the love and the joy that he brought to all who knew him.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Nell, and is survived by his three daughters, Chellie, Jane (Dick) Markota, Carole (Lloyd) Wiltfong, five grandchildren Marissa (Max) Alwag, Lindsey (Chris) Poveromo, Robert, Kathryn, and Nick, and three great-grandchildren Maxie, Karalyn, and Derek, all of Southern California.

The family would like to extend their sincere appreciation and thanks to Vitas Hospice, whose care-giving nurses and other helpers made his last days comfortable and eased the transition for all of the family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Vitas Foundation Hospice, 400 W. Ventura Blvd. #145, Camarillo, CA 93010.

A memorial service will be held at Rose Hills, 3888 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA on Thursday, May 16th at 11:00 am at the Memorial Chapel.  Interment will be private at 10:00 am, prior to the service.

–

Thank you for all your prayers, best wishes, and condolences. I know you join with us in mourning our loss and celebrating the wonderful life of our delightful dad.

Much love,

Chellie

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Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

128-May 8

“If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.

For many years I had studied acting, gotten my B.A. Degree in Dramatic Art, and made the trek to Hollywood as countless thousands before me. I got my Equity card performing in Hello, Dolly! with Martha Rae, my SAG card in The Time of Your Life with James Whitmore, and did odds and ends of dinner theaters, commercials, and Disneyland. Though even minor stardom eluded me, I enjoyed my creative pursuit of the dream.

In between acting jobs, I took secretarial jobs to pay the bills—luckily, during one summer- school session, my mother had said “Learn to type, honey!” Each time a show closed, I’d call the employment agency and they’d send me on my next temporary assignment. One fateful day in September, a play I was in closed when the backers ran out of money. The temporary secretarial assignment was supposed to last for two weeks.

I was there for four years.

(Continued on page 128 of The Wealthy Spirit)

Today’s Affirmation: “All my desires are worthy and I always get everything I desire.”

A couple of years ago, I had just started my 8-week series of Financial Stress Reduction® teleclasses Monday and Tuesday, so I took Wednesday afternoon off and went down to the Bicycle Casino to play in their small 2:00 pm Omaha High-Low tournament.

Note: Omaha is a card game played like Texas Hold’em, except each player is dealt 4 cards instead of 2, and the best high hand splits the pot with the best low hand. You have to use 3 cards on the board and 2 cards in your hand and the low hand must be 5 low cards the highest of which can be an 8.

There were about 40 players, and we started with $5,000 in tournament chips (the buy-in was $50) I won some chips early, but then had a bad patch where I lost all but $1,000. But I won the next hand I played, and then had some wonderful winning hands – like a club flush with A-2-3-4-5 lowest possible hand, too. They call this “nut-nut” – having the “nuts” is having the best possible hand and having “nut-nut” is having the best possible high and low hands.

I finished 3rd winning $285, then played a cash game of $8-16 limit holdem and won another $281. So it was a fun, relaxing, and profitable day off!

What are your hobbies? Are they relaxing? Profitable? Fun? Share your stories here with us!

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Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

127-May 7

“Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.”—Italian Proverb

One afternoon, I was complaining about all of my problems to a friend as we milled with a group, waiting for a meeting to begin. She listened patiently to me whining for about five minutes, and then she had had enough.

“Excuse me!” she said loudly. I froze in my tracks.

“Did you eat today?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, not understanding why she was asking this question.

“Do you have a place to sleep tonight?” she continued, looking at me coldly.

Now I was getting the picture. “Yes,” I said sheepishly.

“And do you have a car to drive you to that place you’re going to sleep tonight?” she demanded.

I was dead meat now and I knew it. “Yes,” I whined.

“And is that car a Mercedes?”

“Uhhh…” I was inarticulate with embarrassment.

“Then shut up!” she exclaimed.

We stared at each other for a moment and then we both laughed. “Thanks, Sandy,” I said. “Message received.”

(Continued on page 127 of The Wealthy Spirit)

Today’s Affirmation: “I take time to be happy—and to know that I am.”

This story is one of my favorites, and I still tell it. We all get trapped in our limited perspectives sometimes and need a friend to give us a metaphorical kick in the ass from time to time.

One of my dear friends still remembers the day she changed the direction of her life. She had called me to talk because she was drawn to the idea of becoming a psychotherapist. But it was going to take years of study and then internship and she was agonizing over what she was going to have to give up in order to do it.

“How can I give up my acting career after all these years?” she wailed.

As gently as I could, I said, “What career?”

There was silence on the phone, and then “Ah.”

She really hadn’t been doing any acting except in community theater or showcase productions – all things that didn’t pay. She knew that, but all the activity kept the illusion of success alive, even though there wasn’t an income to back it up.

Old dreams die hard. One thing that keeps actors going is the eternal optimism that maybe today I’ll be discovered, maybe today I’ll get that commercial that will run forever and pay the bills, maybe today my agent will call with an offer for a TV series. You dream until one day your dreams come true or one day you wake up and discover your dream has changed.

My friend enrolled in psychology courses, got her MFCC, did her internship, and has been happily running a successful private practice helping people for many years. And on the side, she still acts in community theater and has a ball.

And that’s success, too.

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Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: DailyAffirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

126-May 6

“Good morning. This is God. I will be handling all your problems today. I will not need your help. So, have a good day.”—Unknown

I was stamping my foot and moaning about my life when my friend, Jennifer, reminded me that there was only so much I could do to make my dreams come to pass. Then I had to relax and let God take over. A hard lesson, that. Jennifer then repeated this poem to me, which I never forgot:

As children bring their broken toys

With tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God,

Because He was my friend.

But then instead of leaving Him

In peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help,

With ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried,

“How can you be so slow?”

“My child,” He said, “What could I do?

“You never did let go!”—Unknown

So much in life is a matter of timing. The sun comes up at dawn, not before. The ship sails on the tide, not before. I have to do all that I can do, then let go and let God. As Marianne Williamson says, “His ways aren’t all that mysterious.”

God knows what time it is. You’re on His schedule. Trust.

Today’s Affirmation: “I live in buoyant assurance of my continuing abundance!”

Do you keep statistics on where your clients are coming from?

I did a free teleclass “women Don’t Ask” last year. I had 650 people registered for the call, 119 attended and 26 attended the encore presentation. That’s about 25% which is the average number of people who listen live. Others are sent the recording and listen at their leisure.

Subsequently, I started two 8-week teleclasses with 9 people in Monday nights and 6 in Tuesday afternoons. I always like to know how people first heard about me and how the enrollment process went, so here are my statistics:

First heard or read about me:

Books – 4
Guest on another Teleclass – 2
In person speech at event – 2
Twitter – 1 (my first Twitter client!)
Facebook – 1
Guest article in Newsletter – 1
Networking groups – 2 (one from early 90s and one from 2003)
Internet link – 1
Referral – 1

Enrollment process:

*Woman – 6 emails, 8 phone calls
Woman – 2 emails, 5 phone calls
*Woman – 1shoppingcart (several phone calls 3 years ago, on newsletter list)
Woman – 2 phone calls
Woman – 1shoppingcart, several phone calls over 8 months
*Woman – 2 emails, 1 phone call
*Woman – 1 email, 1 phone call
*Woman – 1 email, 1 phone call
Woman – 2 emails, 2 phone calls
*Woman – 1shoppingcart, 1 phone call
*Woman – 5 emails, 3 phone calls
Man – 3 emails, 1 phone call
Woman – 2 emails, 1 phone call
Woman – 1 phone call
Woman – 3 emails, 2 phone calls

* 7 listened to my “Women Don’t Ask” free teleclass. If you’d like to register to get a free copy of the recording, sign up here http://www.chellie.com/complimentary-teleclass-041811.html

Most of the people have been on my mailing lists for some time and the subject matter of the teleclass really resonated with them. The conference call service I use sends a call report afterward, listing the callers names and telephone numbers, so I printed out the list and started calling people. A lot of them were strongly considering enrolling in my course, but the personal call from me tipped the balance. I always say “the money is in the phone” and “it’s not cold calling, it’s gold calling”!

Ps – the “let go, let God” happens AFTER you do the work.

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Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

125-May 5

“I waited and waited, and when no message came, I knew it must be from you.”—Ashleigh Brilliant

Patience.

I am patient.

I am patient.

I am P-A-T-I-E-N-T.

“He also serves who only stands and waits.”

I can wait my turn.

I can W-A-I-T.

I have patience.

God has three answers to prayers:

“Yes,” “Not now,” and “I have something better for you.”

Of the three, “Not now” is the toughest one.

Not now. Okay.

WHEN?

“Good things come to him who waits.”

I am waiting.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!

WAIT.

Wait.

Wait.

Sometimes it seems, when we’ve been sending out a lot of ships, but none are coming in, that all our dreams are on the “slow boat to China.” Don’t lose faith; don’t lose hope. The ships are sailing; you just can’t see them. If they’re not in sight yet, it’s because they’re not supposed to be. This is the process by which human beings develop patience, faith, and trust. All things are working together for your good.

You are in charge of sending ships out. You are not in charge of when they come in.

Today’s Affirmation: “All things seen and unseen are working for my good.”

I learned patience at the poker table.

As much as I love to be in the action, betting and raising and pushing all-in, figuring out other players – how they play and what they have, moving my chips around, and having a high time of it all, there are times when you are just “card dead”. That means instead of great hands like Aces, Kings, Queens, and the like, the two cards you are dealt are a series of miserable looking 9-2, 8-3, King-3, and Jack-6.

You can’t play them. You have to wait. And waiting is so irritating!

A poker teacher once wrote that the first poker lesson should be “Go outside and watch the grass grow for 2 hours.” And the second lesson would be “Go outside and watch the grass grow for 4 hours.”

Argh.

Getting frustrated is so easy. And so wrong. It won’t make you get better cards. It will make you tempted to play badly. It will make you picture the outcome you DON’T want, instead of visualizing the outcome you DO want. Classic Law of Attraction. So then you get a pair of threes and think they’re Aces, overplay your hand, and lose.

This is what people do in business, too. They are sending out their ships, marketing their product or service, and getting frustrated when the ships don’t come in right now. There’s a lull, and nobody says “Yes, yes, I want to buy that!” They start looking at their bills and getting anxious that they won’t be able to pay them. They look ahead and think, “What if nobody ever buys from me again? What am I going to do about the house payment? How am I going to pay for my daughter’s braces?”

They start visualizing what they DON’T want instead of what they DO want. That’s when they start doing bad sales, pitching to people who aren’t interested, looking desperate. Classic.

Wait. Have faith. Have patience. Visualize your ships sailing into your harbor, unloading treasure at your dock. They’re coming. They’re just beyond the horizon. Visualize. Trust. Believe. Smile. Thank God for your treasure BEFORE you see it. Believing is seeing.

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Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

124-May 4

“A deficit is what you have when you haven’t got as much as you had when you had nothing.”—Gerald F. Lieberman

People with debts often ask me if they should pay them all off before starting to save money for the future. Most financial planners and accountants point to the fact that it’s not financially smart to be saving money and only earning 5 to 8 percent on the money when you could reduce debt that is costing you 15 to 25 percent. This certainly makes mathematical sense.

But mathematical sense is not the only thing that should be considered here. Human beings are complex creatures, and habit and emotions play a significant role in behavior.

Studies repeatedly show that Americans don’t save much of their income. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy, and consumer debt continues to rise. The endemic habit is to spend a lot, save a little, and go deeper in debt. To change this habit, new behavior is required. So my suggestion is to start saving now, even if you are in debt, because you need to begin the savings habit. It may take you longer and cost you additional interest to do it this way, but in the long run you will profit from it.

(continued on page 124 of The Wealthy Spirit)

Today’s Affirmation: “I save money happily and responsibly!”

Ah, well, it’s fun to read that when I wrote this, circa 1998-9, savings rates were 5-8 percent. Wow, wouldn’t we like to get that now?

Circumstances change. You’re lucky if you get 2% today. But then, mortgage rates were higher, too, in the 7-8% range, whereas now I’ve seen them advertised as low as 2.99%.

The point is that you have to stay attuned to changes in the economy. What was a good investment last year can be a bad investment this year. You need a financial planner to assist you in deciding the best investments for your age and portfolio. When you’re younger, you can take advantage of higher paying investments that have a higher risk factor. When you’re older, you need more conservative investments to assure you that you’ll have money to live on in cas you get to that point where you can’t or don’t want to work any more.

The changes in the economy have resulted in our local, state, and national budgets being out of whack. Mandates for government spending and pensions for government employees that were made in boom times are difficult to fund during down times, and there are calls for radical changes and budget cuts. Everyone gets upset over threats to their financial piece of the pie. Voters are asked to cast their ballot for the cuts they prefer.

The problem is that the voters are asked to make budget decisions on individual cuts in spending without taking into consideration the whole picture. It’s impossible to do this and come out with a budget everyone can agree with. I think that the entire budget should always be included in the voters’ pamphlets so that you know exactly what is being preserved and what is being sacrificed. No one can make an adequate decision unless they have this information.

Instead, all we get are the politicians arguing for their fiefdom. And since they are all funded in their campaigns by big business, where do you think their common interests lie? Our tax system is a mess. Health insurance is a bigger mess. People are paying exorbitant amounts for medical insurance and costs keep rising because health insurance is a for-profit business and they make the most money by NOT serving their customer. Putting a national health care plan in their hands is just about the worst financial decision our government can make. Now there’s talk about ending Medicare and just giving seniors vouchers so they can buy their own insurance. Good luck with that.

It’s time for everyone to learn about budgeting and saving – for themselves and for their governments. Be informed, be diligent, and make your voices heard. We the people still have the power of the vote, but we’d better be informed citizens so we can vote for the right things.

Just sayin’.

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Updated insider information by Chellie Campbell, author of “The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction”

123-May 3

“Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity.”—Socrates

You might remember the story of Joseph in the Bible, how he was sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt. After his misadventures with Potiphar’s wife, he was thrown into prison. But there he was discovered to have a talent for interpreting dreams. After several amazing interpretations, which later came true, word of his special talent eventually spread to the palace.

The Pharaoh had been having a terrible recurring dream. In this dream, he saw seven fat cows feeding in the grass, but then seven gaunt and starving cows came up after them and ate them. He also saw seven healthy ears of wheat, but they, like the cows, were swallowed up by seven ears that were withered and blighted. The Pharaoh was very disturbed. He felt a portent of doom was being shown to him, but he didn’t know what it meant. When he heard about Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams, he sent for him immediately.

Joseph had only to hear the Pharaoh tell the story and he knew what was afoot. He explained to the Pharaoh that the dream foretold seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine and advised the Pharaoh to take one-fifth of the bounty from the first seven years and store it away against the need in the second seven years.

Even in ancient Egypt you had to budget—and save for a rainy day (or drought, as the case might be). Nothing much has changed. We regularly have economic expansions, followed by recessions. Yet we don’t seem to store 20 percent of our grain for the lean years. We use credit cards—even when the economy is booming. During the economic expansion from 1995 to 1999, Newsweek reported, consumer debt rose 34 percent to about $6.2 trillion. If you go into debt during the fat years, who is storing grain for the lean years?

Today’s Affirmation: “I am a wonderful saver and investor, and store up plenty during plentiful times!”

Still today, our economy cycles through seasons of lack and seasons of plenty. As I’ve tracked it, it seems like 10 year cycles. I remember the recessions in the early 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s. These downturns were always followed by upturns and the economy soared once again.

Somehow, during times of plenty, it feels like the good times have come to stay: We made it through the storm, survived, and now we’re doing great again and we’ve finally got it! We’re successful and we’re going to be on top forever!! We think.

That’s why people start charging up their credit cards again – they’ve been on Low Budget and now there’s more money and they want to splurge on High Budget. They’re free to do some of the things they couldn’t do when money was tight.

That’s fine. You should have some spree money when the economy loosens up. But you’ve got to carefully figure how much and for how long. Otherwise you get caught up in a new habit of spending and forget to store up your grain for the lean years.

Do not mistake it – there will be lean years come again. Have fun, enjoy your money, have the good life. Just make sure to have some reserves – cash, stocks, real estate, bonds, and other investments.

A zero balance on your credit card doesn’t count as a reserve.

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