Hi Momma Bird OH (neighbour) - and anyone else interested,

Thank you for your words of appreciation.

Figured I was shooting my mouth off too much around here.

And - didn't feel that I had anything innovative to say, or a bit different from what others had said.

Driving my son the clown around to do his thing - he made better than $300. making kids happy by blowing up (long) balloons and twisting them into a dozen or so animal (and other) shapes (they call it "twisting") at a Riverfest and Dragon Boat Festival in a nearby city on the weekend.

Some Dragon Boat crews are made up of survivors of breast cancer surgery. Difficult - as muscular strength has been reduced: but those women have learned together to be tough.

I saw the local Public Library on the way into town, when I got there they allowed internet connection for a stated 20 min. - but I got to use it for over an hour (watching meanwhile to be sure that there was at least one unit open). Had some fun reading, as well.

Collected a bunch of aluminum cans - and about three dozen beer cans and bottles, worth 10 cents each. So many that there was hardly any room for the son in the car on the way home - guess I'll need to get a little trailer.

Tried to clear off some of the unwanted stuff that was clogging up precious space in my email storage - but I couldn't move stuff to Wordpad and store the (few) that I wanted to keep.

Actually - I could have opened another email address and shipped some there. One of the screeners that I use is "junkmailforall22@yahoo.ca".

Finally - clearing the *%&$(#&%^ out of my e-mail storage.

As usual - good wishes to all - for a glorious summer week ahead.

ole joyful

P.S. Looking forward to visit with daughter - left Phoenix Friday morning, arrived London (about 2,400 miles) Sun. night (I think - if followed plan). She was here earlier Monday.

She counsels people laid off. A dozen at a time, at pre-arranged time, interactive on internet - so can do it from wherever: so long as she has the required online connection.

Our grandparents would shake their heads in wonder. oj

JoyfulGuy... how is it that you are a retired financial planner, and I've visited several forums in the last two hours, and it sounds like you're broke??? Your posts are always so upbeat that we could not imagine your situation.

Please respond.

thanks

Hi Gina and others,

First - greetings all on your national birthday. I hope that you all have a thoughtful, worthy celebration.

And make a major component of it having some great family time together - or, lacking family, have some fun with some other singles.

And - after all the colours, band music and great speeches about how great the U.S. is are over - perhaps spend a moment or two to ponder where the U.S. is going.

Not broke or near it, Gina - I wondered a while ago about buying a modest home (wouldn't feel comfortable in what my foreman when I worked for a window manufacturer called the "big shacks" - custom-built homes that the builders make the big bucks on).

Could have paid cash for it, if I'd chosen - and it probably would have held its value better that a number of my stock market investments, through recent years.

Another example of the concept that it's usually not wise to have all of one's eggs in one basket.

Income level that many would find difficult, especially families with resident children, but frugality means that I can make annual increase in savings - against the day when, pension plans having run into trouble, they may be reduced. One, a non-contractual one, fortunately not a major one, could disappear fairly easily (but doubt that it will, in the near future, at least).

It's the son who has trouble meeting monthly rental at times. And - when I choose to "help him out" - I enable him to continue to pursue his improvident ways.

It's not that he's a spendthrift - he doesn't spend the big bucks.

But he is rather lackadaisical about the need to provide one's self with an ongoing, stable, substantial income.

Most of son's good earning times are when he works as a clown on summer weekends.

I went down with him to a Ribfest in a suburb of Toronto over our national holiday on July 1 - Friday till Tuesday.

He's here in London at an international festival, with ethnic music, dancing and other celebrations, this weekend.

If I didn't know not only where this month's rent was to come from, but that of three or four months in future - I'd be sweating blood, especially in these northern climes where spending two or three days outdoors, let alone a whole winter, is not an attractive prospect.

As most financial advisors, I recommended that clients have funds on hand to cover at least three to four months full expenses covered at all times.

Some time ago I suggested that, while he likes to do his own business thing, income is sporadic, often small. In such a situation, one needs an ongoing, reasonably stable, additional income, to meet one's basic and ongoing expenses.

I'd suggested that he work as a security guard, as I did for a number of years - for they allow one to refuse an assignment on occasion without dismissal, which most employers don't.

He didn't out-and-out refuse - but he resisted, and didn't get other than occasional additional income sources.

I told him that I felt that his willingness to let me work as a security guard, but to be unwilling to do that, or something else, himself - but to tell me that he'd appreciate me giving some of my cheques to him - was rather out of line.

How would he react if his son made such an (unspoken) proposal to him?

I've suggested to some labour unions that it would be well for them to offer financial adviors' counsel to their members. If, instead of something less that (possibly) ten per cent of their members having a 3 - 6 months' expense plan in place, something like half of them did, management would become aware of it - and would be much less ready to see their workers go out on strike, knowing that they could weather a much longer one with much less stress.

None willing to take on such a concept. Yet.

Good wishes to all for a happy holiday today.

ole joyful

P.S. I was done anyway - but gotta go - need to make a 125 mile run to get more supplies for son.

OJ