Good day grandchildren,
It has been a while since I wrote to you, but things have been
hectic here at the ranch. Grandma and I
have spent a lot of time at the various doctors getting problems straightened
out. My sleep apnea testing is taking
time, hopefully the treatment improves my general health. For sure these kidney stones have been a real
pain for grandma. And the present series
of treatments will continue for several months longer. But enough of that subject for now.
I would like to talk about education, jobs, incomes, and
budgets. The last, the budget, is
vital. You need to know how much you can
spend to stay solvent, that is not to go bankrupt. It is very important if you are running a cat
café or publishing books both with cyclic income, but with routine costs. Then there is the subject of income, you need
to have some idea of what income you can expect from certain jobs or
businesses, the café or publishing a book.
For most jobs starting salaries are discussed and offered, but what can
you expect in a longer term. And
actually do you care? That is where the
budget becomes important. We have to
balance the two, income and expenses, on a continuous basis. As the draft budget we sent to Addisson,
every month certain items are due, it is a fact of life. Taxes are discussed in the Bible and are
still here. Paul wrote most of the New Testament
and many people think of him as only an intenerate preacher. A noble and Godly profession then and still
today. But if you read the chapters he
wrote, he states that he earned his living and provided for most of his helpers
with his own hands. He was a tent maker
a skilled craftsman of the time. People
still lived in tents at that time and these tents would be large, like the
current glamor safari tents or the pictured Armbruster event tent above. This craft
of his would require buying tent material, threads, tools to cut and sew, and finding
and working with customers. And yes, he
would have had taxes also. The other
disciples were all workers, fishermen and tax collectors for two jobs that I know
of.
So Paul is an excellent example of a skilled worker or craftsman
with a very different profession. I would
suggest that today we have WAY too many professionals with no ability to
perform a skilled craft and make a living from it for themselves and their
families. This makes them a captive of
their profession. A teacher or professor
who has no skilled craft that they could do and support themselves is trapped
in the education system, school or college.
Do what the government or school management says, or loose your job and
most of the time your only source of income.
This kills your budget, and you know it.
The debts you owe will come due and you will not be able to pay. The house, the car, anything bought on credit. DONE.
So what can be done today, welding is a skill your father
learned and enjoyed and used, commercial diving is another. Welders will be around for a long time and it
pays well, we can discuss these options later.
And these jobs are in addition to any education that you might obtain. I read a quote today, "She quit the
academic program because it wasn't as fulfilling as she'd hoped, and she didn't
think she'd make enough extra money later to justify it." So, going to college is expensive, and can be
well worth it in many cases, but not all.
And creativity and personality are not taught in college and you all
have both of these.
I will write later about some of the other items.
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