Picture of Mom and Dad

Here is a fairly recent picture of us.

Wassup Crew Returns

If you liked this one, check out the DOG HOUSE.

Trip to Boston Science Museum

Last Saturday Nina, Mom, Cousins Sam and George all visited the Boston Science Museum. We visited the butterfly gardens. It was great!

Check out cousin Sam peering over my right shoulder.

Recipes and Local Stuff

A Dark Article

A Dark Article with some brilliant historical insight.

How To Get Out Of Debt

How To Get Out Of Debt 

Lesson 1: Setting the Foundation 

Key points

As a financial topic, debt is simple. There are no complicated secrets, but -- unfortunately -- there are no easy solutions either. It's going to take discipline to bury the debt monster.  Anybody who says otherwise is probably just after your money.

It doesn't take a reckless person or a wild spending spree to create a debt crisis. A consistent pattern of spending just a little more than you make, over time, can lead to a serious problem.

Compound interest is a powerful force that works either for you or against you. If you want this force on your side, you'll have to rise above the advertisers and bankers that are used to having the force on their side.

"Good debts" combine a low, tax-adjusted interest rate with the potential to gain something that appreciates in value.

Welcome to The Motley Fool's quick course on beating debt! We Fools are highly committed to turning net debtors into net savers, replacing the slavery of monthly payments with the joy of expanding investments. We sincerely hope that this series is a big step in that direction for you.

Since you've decided to take a debt seminar, we're going to guess that money problems are at least nipping at your heels. Or perhaps -- worst case -- an overwhelming debt burden is pushing you to the edge of financial disaster. Since we don't know exactly where you are, we take a big-picture approach in this first lesson.

If you are already suffering a debt crisis, however, you should probably skip this lesson for the moment and start with the optional Lesson Five: Debt Triage. Once you get your financial life to a stable state, you'll be ready to take in the rest of the seminar and set the foundation for a lifetime of successful debt management.

If debt is not currently a problem -- you're just here to learn and head off future problems -- let's get started with the basics of managing debt and the fundamentals upon which you will build your financial success.

First, though, please take a few minutes to download your seminar workbook, which will be your trusted companion throughout this seminar -- along with that big bag of potato chips. You'll start putting it to use right after this lesson. Download the workbook by clicking here. Go ahead -- we'll wait!

Beating Debt Is Simple, But Not Easy

Getting out of debt and staying out of debt is actually pretty simple, at least compared to most money management topics. It boils down to spending less money than you make, on a consistent, long-term basis. That's it. Nothing else will get the job done. Nothing.

And it's easy too. Right? Wrong! While conquering debt won't send you scrambling for thick math textbooks, it's an ocean away from easy. One moment of weakness -- or worse, one cruel act of fate -- and you're scratching and clawing your way back out of the hole. It's not easy.

So, how did something so simple get to be so hard? Because beating debt demands a lot of will power over a long period of time. If you've been a human being for any length of time, you know that this is one tough combination to nail down.

We know we're preaching and it's a pretty depressing sermon. But we're afraid there's no getting around it. Over the long term, regularly spending more than you make -- even just a little more -- will bring your financial house down, even if you are the most responsible of bill payers. Until this basic lesson is taken to heart, even bankruptcy is just a temporary solution.

How Careful Do You Have to Be?

Consider two simple examples, starting with a positive one. Let's say that you begin setting aside $75 every month, in savings earning 5% interest. If you can pull this off for five years, you'll end up with a comforting $5,100 in emergency savings.

Now, let's turn this picture on its head, and assume that you come up short by the same $75 per month, on average, over the same five years. Further, assume that you routinely patch over this difference with a credit card. Note that we're talking about less than $20 per week here -- hardly a symptom of reckless "retail therapy." Nonetheless, at the end of five years you'll be looking at more than $7,200 in debt, assuming an 18% credit card interest rate.

That's an extra $2,100 in debt, beyond the $5,100 earned by saving $75 per month. This is the difference between saving and paying down debt. Saving is hard enough, but paying down debt is $2,100 harder!

And this difference just gets bigger as time goes on. While your bank savings work hard twenty-four hours a day to make you more money, any outstanding credit card debt is likely to be working three times harder, charging a much higher interest rate than your savings pay.

Moreover, as a saver you have the force of compound interest on your side, the idea that your balance starts to snowball as you earn interest not only on your deposits but also on the interest payments you leave in the account. As a debtor, this same powerful compounding force works against you, and the higher the interest rate, the faster the snowball builds.

Good Debt versus Bad Debt

We've been talking tough about consumer debt, but we do realize that some debts are an inescapable part of life for most of us. Still, even when we carry debt, there are some basic debt management rules that will keep the lid on problems:

Be especially wary of double-digit debt -- credit cards and loans that charge 10% or more in annual interest. At this level, balances snowball quickly, and it's tough to get a return on the borrowed money that beats this cost.

Good debts, like some mortgages and student loans, combine two things: 1) a relatively low, tax-adjusted interest rate; and 2) the potential to invest in something that, over the long run, will grow in value.

Ignore banker's rules for "acceptable" levels of debt. These are designed by banks to maximize their income. Their calculations cleverly keep you far enough under water that you continue to pay them interest, but not so deep that you go broke. Don't be a slave. Set tighter rules on your own.

Summary - The Personal Finance Divide

Somewhere in every mountain range there is a line that divides water flow. On one side of the line, for example, water flows east. On the other, it flows west. Regardless of direction, these rivers and streams start out as a trickle but quickly pick up speed as they head down the mountain, finishing as raging torrents.

Money and wealth work exactly the same way. Over time, you'll end up on either the savings or the debt side of the personal finance divide. It doesn't take much to nudge you one way or the other, but once a direction is established, the momentum tends to build and it gets harder and harder to go back.

If you want to "nudge" yourself in the savings direction, just remember that it all boils down to spending less money than you make, on a consistent long-term basis. (We're hoping you've noticed that this is an important point.)

Take the time now to head on over to your workbook, where you'll begin to get an idea of what your personal financial picture looks like.

 

This Seminar contains the opinions and ideas of The Motley Fool. It is provided with the understanding that The Motley Fool is not engaged in rendering financial or other professional services. The Motley Fool specifically disclaims any responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this Seminar. Legal Information. Copyright 1995-2001 The Motley Fool. All rights reserved.

Candidates as Cell Phones

More Family photos

Sabir, Cousin Miles, Margie, Aunt Natalie and Cousin Lena

Bama and Momma

Remember the old Sheraton Arms abandoned lot at the corner of Updike and Peace?
This is our new playground.
Neighbor Doug Victor has been the chief spokesperson for this project.
The recent upgrade has inspired a renewed interest in the Peace and Plenty Community Garden.

Email from Harriët

From: Harriët van de Kamp
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 2:33 PM
Subject: just an email from Holland
Hi Greg and Natalie,

Just a little bit of information to let you know where we're going to stay next week.
http://www.ferienhaus-kiesberg.de/ is the house where we rented an appartment. We'll drive there on saturday and Herman planned to leave at 6 a.m., but I prefer to stay in bed a little longer....

When all goes well with the traffc, we can drive there in about 7 hours (it is about 777 km). Usually we both drive fot 2 hours and then we change places. Our kids are used to driving for hours, so we don't take too many breaks.
There is no maximum speed in Germany, so we'll try to find out what speed our car can reach (don't worry; it's a hybrid Toyota Prius so it cannot go very fast).

We did not plan what we'll do for the whole week, since we're not sure about the weather but there are some things we really want to do:
- visit Legoland (http://www.legoland.de/In-the-park/Park-map/Park-virtuell.htm?lc=en)
- visit concentration camp Dachau. Many dutch/jewish people were killed there during WW2. Since this is part of our history; (Herman is partly jewish) and the deportation camp is close to our house, this visit has been on our to-do-list for a long time http://philip.greenspun.com/bp/dachau
- we might visit one of the King's palaces.
http://www.schwangau.de/dorf-der-koenigsschloesse-224.html We already did that twice, but we don't mind doing it again when Lydia wants to go there.
- we want to visit the city of München/Munich. It is supposed to be very beautiful but we never were there before.
- we want to go to Austria to find out if they already had snow and we want to visit Liechtenstein, which is the smallest country in Europe, but not part of the European Union.

I hope that Lydia will not be disappointed, because she is really looking forward to this vacation (and so are we!). I'll take my laptop with me and if we have any connection (one never knows) you might even get a surprise call!

Greg, I have been looking for a way to make money with internet radio. We have a lot of internet radio here and there a many forums too, but they all are in dutch. Maybe there a American forums (fora?) too?
In Holland it is verty difficult to make internet radio and make profit because one has to pay royalties to artits and writers. The best way is finding sponsors....
You might want to check this website out: http://www.deezer.com/ because the format is very nice. It's a french website but also available in english and dutch.
http://www.nederland.fm/ will give you all internet radio stations available here... you might want to be one of them...

By the way, do you know Jeff Dunham? We love his speech on the prius since Herman drives a prius http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=QodB0BObiZo

Have a good week!

Regards, Harriët

Bama's Neighbors' New Dock

The Townsends are putting in a new dock next to Bama's house.

Bama's Garden

Nature Walk in Mystic

Fall Scene at the Nature Center Pond

American Forest Council Dub - Phil deGruy, 1991

Group Mazel Hug

Group Mazel Hug

Cousin Jackson and Lydia

Thanksgiving with the Mazels

Richard, Sam, Mike, Isobel, Olivia and Emmett

Friends

More Family Photos

Early days at the Music Mansion

Cousin Gail's Family Card

Beautiful Day at Chase Hill with Carmen

More Family Photos

Sasha and Nina

Kenneth's Lobster Bar Incident
My Bass Clarinet Sistered in Cloth
Mom and Lydia at Chase Hill

Chava, Sasha, Nina and Lydia at Stump Sprouts
Dad's Prom Collage

Zoë and Lydia, Nina and Maddie

Lava and Emmett

My sistah Lavah

Nina and Su, 2008

Zoë

Orange Lydia

Family and Friends and My Mother Holding a Lobster

Marylin

Our friend Marylin, 2/20/07

Nana Lillian

Nana Lillian had the softest hair. I did not get to spend much time with her, but I do remember touching her wonderful hair while sitting on her lap.

Debonair Philip at Harvard

My Dad Philip

Me and My Mom

My Mom, Glenna, holding me.

Nina and Lydia: Great Grandma Lillian and Great Grandpa George with Grandpa Philip

Miles and Lena:

These Grandpas and Grandmas are your Great Grandpas and Grandmas.

In other words, your Dad's father's father and mother. It's fun to collect family information so keep asking all the cousins questions and try to find more pictures. Your Aunt Marje is making some DVD's with some old films and videos I have saved.

All best,

Cousin Gregg AKA Cousin Egg

Great Grandpa George and Grandpa Phil

Grandpa George looked like a formidable gentleman!

Raphe has a picture of him wearing a traditional Fedora. I'll have to search to find that one and post it.

Unfortunately, I did not get to meet my Grandpa George, as he had already died before I was born. My mother Glenna tells me stories about George that include him going upstate NY to play Pinochle (for cash). He would either come back empty handed, or with a trunk full of fish for the family! Either way, he always collected wild mushrooms and brought those as well. My mother tells me she said thank you and then tossed them in the back yard. I think there were some growing in the back yard after that. I love mushrooms and always wanted to become a Micologist.

Grandpa Phil and Grandma Glenna at Harvard

Much Clearer Now

This one came to me in an email from the Wheeler School last week...

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight...

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

Nina was always very affectionate towards her baby sister Lydia. Right after these joyful moments, Nina gets her fingers stuck in the screen door... Thankfully it was only a little boo boo. I feel bad for Nina every time I see this one. I remember Lydia began to wail soon after the sad moment too.

Nina loves to paint her face. This is Nina at 4! Lydia is just idling nearby.

Exploring at the Lake - 2000

Lydia's Birthday Party - 2001