Financial Freedom and Practical Spirituality » Personal Finance

My focus for 2009

Bill Perry — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:54:39 +0000

Well, yes. 2009 has already gone to hell for me, because my wife and I have decided to make some very drastic changes to fix ourselves. The biggest action step we’re taking so far is packing up and moving halfway across the United States.
In true Steve Pavlina fashion, I’ve decided to pick one major area of my life to work on for 2009. After a painful and quick self-assesment, I found that the area of my life that needs the most fixing is my financial life. By saying that, I mean that the only finances I really have at this point are bad ones

So, I’m totally immersing myself in financial stuff. The financial plan I intend to use is T. Harv Eker’s plan lined out in “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”.

So, anyway. I’ve decided I should break the absolutefreaking HUGE goal of “begin living a life of ever-increasing abundance” down into smaller things I can do 30-day trials on.

That’s where you come in. I need suggestions of possibilities to work on, 30 days at a time.

A caveat is in order here:

“If you aren’t financially abundant yourself, i.e. you’re either living paycheck to paycheck, or there’s too much month at the end of the money, your advice likely won’t get me past whatever level you’re currently at.”

OK. Having said that, I’m looking for genuine no-BS ideas to work on. Comments are welcome

What happens to your life if you stop overspending right now?

Bill Perry — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 12:12:10 +0000

On the blog over at Healthbolt.net, Wade asks the question What Happens to Your body if you stop smoking Right now?. Reading the list of interesting things that happen in your body that you may not notice right away, it got me to thinking about finances.

If a person were able to instantly break the habit of overspending? What changes could you reasonably expect to experience in your own life?

On Habit

Bill Perry — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 20:52:50 +0000

An interesting problem that Steve Pavlina brings up in his Podcast #016 is the problem of why intentions do not manifest instantly. I’ve been told by several people that “it gives you time to make sure that the intention is what you really want before it happens to you.” My beef with that is how will you KNOW you do or do not want something before you experience it?

Steve’s reasoning as to the time buffer appeals to me more, and also ties in to something I learned from Terry McBride in a workshop he did here in Albuquereue last year.

I understand what Steve Pavlina described like this: The reason that it takes TIME to manifest new intentions is that the stream of intention that you are constantly putting out is the combined average of all you’ve ever thought before now. So, while you may be constantly bombarding your subconscious mind with positive intentions NOW, it still takes time to sway the average subconsciouis intentions you put out. It takes TIME.

Terry McBride, as I gather, said it like this: No amount of prayer, affirmation, or intention ever changes anything or causes anything to become manifest. All you ever do, through prayer, affirmation and intention is alter your BELIEFS. Your BELIEFS are what causes the subconscious mind to offer out new streams of intention.

I really resonate with what McBride says about belief. After some long hard thought, I came to realize that beliefs are really nothing more than habitual patterns of thought. I’ll explain.

Thoughts are what ultimately cause the Law of Attraction to manifest, because, through such techniques as meditation, affirmation and autosuggestion, the thoughts alter the content of the subconscious mind’s programming.

Have you ever wondered why it seems to take so long to get an affirmation to stick? I remember reading somewhere (multiple places, actually) that it takes at least 21 straight days of doing something for it to become habit. The first 3 weeks may seem like hell when it comes to remembering to do the new thing you are trying to adopt. If you can push through that hump though, you’re pretty much there, programming-wise.

Now, the subcoscious mind, and the brain in general, rely on finding patterns and associations. When you first learn to drive, it is a daunting thing. Get in, buckle in, key in, start engine, check mirrors, etc… Who can remember all that stuff? The key, however, is when the brain is exposed to the actions in the proper sequence enough times (through Spaced Repetition), that eventually the subconscious mind is able to take over the actions automatically. That is why sometimes we drive somewhere, and don’t remember driving there. The brain, having done it enough times, doesn’t see fit to bring every detail of the driving to our conscious awareness. Want some of the best meditation in the world? Drive a fairly long route you are used to taking. It works wonders.

So, the same applies to all things learned by the brain. Let’s say you want to develop the habit of remembering your dreams, which is a personal favorite of mine. Erin Pavlina tells us in the podcast she did with Steve about Lucid Dreaming, to lie still in bed after waking up. Keep eyes closed to remember the dream, by noticing which emotions come up as you think about the parts of the dream you remember. I know this is very difficult at first, as I’m still playing with it. It is difficult because most of us are trained (a habit) to wake up with the alarm clock and instantly jump out of bed into out busy lives. What if you took the extra few minutes for 3 weeks to a month, to just wake up a few minutes early and remember what you dreamed about? Eventually, that habit will overpower the previous habit of jumping out of bed on the first beep of the alarm.

So, does it not stand to reason that if we think a specific thought or group of thoughts enough times, that the thought will eventually get taken over by the subconscious mind as a habitual thought?

Now, the tricky thing is, beliefs aren’t always made up on just one thought. I mentioned before that the brain is a thing of association. Think two or more thoughts TOGETHER, and the thoughts will become habitual TOGETHER. If you get into a situation that fires off one of the thoughts, the other thought will automatically fire with it.

Beliefs are tricky things, and we need to find better and better ways to change out bad beliefs for better ones.

Two methods I recommend are the post I wrote about called How to Eliminate Negative Thought Patterns or Steve Pavlina’s article How to Squash Negative Thought Patterns.

As far as finances and money go, your spending habits either make or break you financially. What if you took 3 weeks to simply write down the different things you spend your money on? The very act of observation will help find out where your money leaks are, so you can plug them. Wouldn’t it be nice if that happened without you realizing it? Just like the “how did I get here when I don’t remember driving the last 200 miles?”, you just might wake up and say “Where did all this extra money come from?”

A 3-Step Recipe for Financial Freedom

Bill Perry — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 21:43:42 +0000

Financial Freedom

Ingredients:

1 copy of “Good Debt, Bad Debt” by Jon Hanson

1 copy of “Rich Dad’s Guide to Becoming Rich Without Cutting Up Your Credit Cards” by Robert Kiyosaki

1 Notebook

1 writing instrument (pen or pencil)

1 pinch of willingness to change your spending habits

2-3 hours to sit down and really plan out what you want.

Directions:

Sit down. Open notebook. With writing instrument in hand, write down, at the top of the paper, in BIG letters, the exact sum of money you would like to have in your possession.

Under this amount, write down an action plan consisting of what you THINK and FEEL you need to accomplish or perform to get the amount of money you have specified. Find out what price you will have to pay, in terms of value or service, to acquire the specified amount of money. Resolve to pay that price. (Keep in mind that, as you progress with your action plan, it will likely change somehow. The action plan you start out with, will not likely be the one that gets you there!) The action plan is a process of PLAN/DO/REVIEW. You PLAN the steps, you DO the steps, then you REVIEW and see if anything about your steps needs changed.

Look at your spending habits. Using the notebook, start a new sheet, and for the next 14 days, write down EVERYTHING you spend money on. Make like an accounting ledger. Write down the item(s), the price, where you got it, the time of day. Write down any sort of information that you can look back on after the end of 14 days and notice patterns such as:

1) Do I spend more money during any specific times of the day?

2) AM I spending an inordinate amount of money on any specific types of items?

3) Are there any items which I could do without, if it will help me reach my financial goals?

More questions and patterns will emerge. Truth be told, you may not like what you see. Stick with it. It works. It gets better. Promise.

Adjust your spending habits in accordance with what you find in the spending log. Notice, after 60 or more days, how much better you feel when you realize that you are taking money that was going through your hands already, and making BETTER use of it.

Financial Freedom: Saying Goodbye to the Time for Money Swap by Michael Dawson

Bill Perry — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:03:50 +0000

Before we address the issue at hand, let’s make sure that we are clear on the definition of financial freedom. Up until 4 or 5 years ago, I had a warped perception of financial freedom. I pictured it as a life of leisure with a couple million dollars in the bank. After taking on too many unnecessary risks trying to attain that goal, I stopped to rethink my definition. I realized that financial freedom doesn’t require millions of dollars. As long as you have enough to cover your yearly expenses and a method to replenish your coffers, you are there. That sounds sort of like a job. However, even using that as a definition only a few working people would meet the criteria. Most need a job and a few credit cards to make ends meet. I redefined it as follows:

Financial Freedom is freedom to focus on what is truly important to you and your family without having to trade time for a wage. It is enabled by a portfolio of income producing assets, managed by you, which generates sufficient income to cover your yearly expenses on an ongoing basis. It provides both time and money.

That is significantly different than my original definition, but much more achievable. It requires that your days be spent maximizing the return on your eBay business, rental properties or other assets. Unfortunately, it is no life of leisure. However, the intent is to generate your income in far fewer hours than the standard 9 to 5. If structured correctly the revenue will continue to come in while vacationing or on the golf course.We have prepared our entire lives for the time for money swap. It is simply what responsible people do. You commit 40, 50 or 60 hours per week and the company commits to pay you for your efforts and in some cases extremely well. The concept of not exchanging your time for a wage is so foreign for most that financial freedom will never be seriously considered. Many will dream about it, but life will slap them back into reality. The few who choose to ignore life’s slap – must be willing to make the following three commitments.
< Read the rest of this powerful article in Michael’s Blog>

Interview with Steve King, Part 3 of 3

Bill Perry — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 21:49:45 +0000

This is part 3 of a 3-part interview featuring Steve King, creator of the Green Geek Blog

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

BILL: The majority of readers here are interested in learning more about aspects of financial freedom and how to become independently wealthy. In your opinion, how does what you’re doing at Green Geek fit in to that objective?

STEVE: My philosophy towards technology and social sustainability inherently revolves around efficiency; cost savings is a side effect of this. With many of the actions for property owners, such as replacing light bulbs with CFL’s or replacing entire appliances, the up front cost seems high but the energy savings outweighs this cost in the long run. Conservation is a very important philosophy in financial freedom, as it equates directly to reduced expenses. The benefit of these technologies is energy and cost savings, with absolutely no loss of comfort or function. After all, the less money you’re spending, the more money you’re able to keep. Benjamin Franklin said it best, “a penny saved is a penny earned.”

BILL: In your opinion, what changes need to be made both in the short and long term?

STEVE: In the short term, it will benefit us all to reduce our energy consumption by doing things like replacing light bulbs, draft proofing, and applying common sense such as shutting off the lights and the TV if you’re going out for the night. Buy organic food where available, locally produced if possible. If you’re buying a new appliance, look for an Energy Star rated one. Put your computer into auto-hibernation mode so it shuts itself off after a period of disuse, without you even thinking about it. Drive a hybrid car, carpool, ride a bike. In upcoming elections, vote consciously. Learn the issues, and vote for what’s best for the planet. In the long term, we need to completely get rid of fossil fuels. Our dwindling supplies should take care of that, but it should be a conscious choice to progress beyond it rather than a move forced by necessity. The Building code needs to be changed to adopt LEED standards, and home appliances and devices need to be built to be as energy efficient as possible, as well as completely recyclable. We need to eliminate personal self-propelled vehicles as our primary mode of transportation, and instead focus on creating new sustainable eco-villages that are walkable and connected via a high speed rail system into a beautiful majestic sprawling region that is full of natural green spaces, parks, agricultural areas, all powered by passive and eco-friendly means such as integrated solar, offshore wind farms and geothermal systems.

BILL: In your life, who have been the major influences in shaping your philosophies and views?

STEVE: There have been many people who have inspired me, but one that really stands out is Nikola Tesla. His work wasn’t specifically related to environmental topics; rather he was focused on finding better ways to do things. Another influential person I encountered in my life was one of my professors in my first year of school. I started school studying electrical engineering, inspired by Nikola Tesla. I decided to minor in biotechnology, and at the time I was acting with the belief that anyone who was opposed to genetic engineering and biotechnology must be a closed-minded religious fundamentalist. Luckily for me, I happened to get a fantastic professor for a bioethics class, and rather than just teaching us from the textbook she also showed us other perspectives of the issues. It was during this class that I discovered organic agriculture and the dangers of chemical pesticides, both the promises and the tremendous risks involved with gene splicing to create “better” organisms, and the potential for natural systems. The professor loaned me a book, which I read in 1 night and then promptly purchased my own copy the day after. That book was John Todd’s book From Eco-Cities to Living Machines. I decided to switch majors to environmental engineering the following year, and was very successful with my new studies, graduating near the top of my class with an honours diploma. Recently, I’ve been very inspired by the writings of Steve Pavlina. His perspective on the field of personal development has really made an impression on me, because he’s done such incredible things using a unique blend of technology (blogging, podcasting, and programming) and spirituality. Finally, it’s somewhat cliché, but my family has also greatly influenced my philosophies and views. My personality is a blend of my father’s strong intellect, logical thinking and a desire for lifelong learning, and my mother’s creativity, spirituality and compassion for other people and for the planet. I’m driven by the belief that the planet must be saved for us and for future generations, but at the same time I’m tempered by the question of how it can be done.

BILL: I would be very interested in working with you in coauthoring some informative articles relating to health, eco-awareness and the financial advantages stemming from that. Would you give me that honor?

STEVE: Absolutely, it would be my pleasure to introduce more of these concepts with your readers!

BILL: I’m quite taken with the notion that adopting a healthy lifestyle can equate to massive long-term financial savings in regards to reduced cost of health care. Perhaps that can be our first joint writing project.

STEVE: I am excited about the possibility to reach your readers and develop some material that will hopefully make a positive difference.

BILL: Thank you for being with us for this short while, Steve. And good luck with the Green Geek Blog.

STEVE: Thank you as well, Bill. Best of luck to you with your website also.

Interview with Steve King, Part 2 of 3

Bill Perry — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 06:26:19 +0000

This is part 2 of 3 of an interview with Steve King. Steve is the creator of the website The Green Geek

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

BILL: What exactly is meant by “geek”, and what qualifies you as a GREEN Geek?

STEVE: Well, being a vegetarian I definitely don’t meet the qualifications for the literal meaning of the word! But seriously, all my life I’ve been focused on intellectual matters. I was reading Hardy Boys novels by age 5, and when my parents bought a computer in the early 1980s I was absolutely fascinated by it. I soon had my own computer, and haven’t looked back. I love to read, and I’m absolutely addicted to the internet, I love having information at my fingertips, and the ability to share that information with other people around the world. I’m also an avid reader of almost anything I can get my hands on, although I prefer science fiction and non-fiction, especially personal development books and any technology books relating to my career path. As far as the “green” aspect, that’s something I’ve been asked many times before. During my final 2 years of school I worked as a computer service technician for the school’s IT department. I studied environmental engineering, there was one person there who was studying mechanical engineering (who also took programming as his major was focused on robotics), but everyone else was in the computer engineering program. There was one coworker who I didn’t initially get along with, but we grew to become friends over the time we worked together. He was quite the interesting character; he was the only student technician to ever lose a whole computer, he decided to take up smoking as a hobby, and he’s also the only Muslim I know whose favorite food is a bacon and sausage sandwich! One of the things he loved to say to me whenever I pointed out that his Coke can is recyclable and he shouldn’t throw it in the garbage can (right beside the recycling box) was “I saw a tree outside this morning, why don’t you go hug it?” He’d also repeatedly ask me why I was working to repair computers, since environmentalists hate technology. I know there are some hardcore environmentalists who are anti-technology, but I happen to love technology…provided it’s used the right way. I don’t want a future where we all live in little huts and have no technology; I want a future with majestic energy efficient buildings, with automated transit systems that take us where we want to go with speed and privacy. I want cities that have beautiful parks and structures that are built to enhance nature, not destroy it. I want computers that can talk to us, I want robots to be a part of our society, I want advanced medical technology to keep us healthy until the end of our lives, I want a society that truly produces no waste, and operates as efficiently as possible. I also want clean air, clean water, and healthy natural food to eat. And I want my children to be able to enjoy the same things, and their children as well. If that doesn’t qualify me as a green geek, then I’m not sure what will.

BILL: I’m an avid reader as well. in regards to books, what types of science fiction do you read? Do you have any favorite authors? Also, what are some of the geeky/environmental books you’ve read?

STEVE: Well, my favorite genre is science fiction, although within that I’m most fascinated by the cyberpunk genre and anything relating to transhumanism. One of my favorite books in that area is Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. I also really enjoyed Eon and Moving Mars, by Greg Bear. These books all include the concept of transhumanism, with neural implants and ubiquitous nanotechnology. Many of these books look at nature as being something to be conquered, something to be improved upon. I look at it in a slightly different way, I believe that we can have spaceships, and little robots that swim in our blood to repair cellular damage, and computers in our head that do all sorts of wonderful things.. and still have nature. We don’t need to give up the natural world to enjoy the benefits of technology, provided we focus on the right technologies. Science fiction gives us a glimpse of what might be possible, maybe even a goal to strive for as many engineers and scientists did after growing up with Star Trek. Think that science fiction doesn’t influence reality? Look at how many people have cell phones, PDAs, and devices that can be written on like paper. These all existed in the realm of science fiction before they became reality. I have a cell phone, a PDA and I’m using a tablet PC right now. Science fiction can show us what’s possible, and some of the more dystopian ones can also show us the dangers of what can happen if we don’t consider the consequences of our actions. As far as non-fiction, the book that really started me on my current path is “From Eco-Cities to Living Machines“. From here I branched out into other books that made me think outside the box. Other really fantastic ones were Cradle to Cradle, Biomimicry, The Natural Step, Natural Capitalism and The Ecology of Commerce, The Secret Life of Plants, and The China Study. Each of these books taught me something and helped shape my view of the environment and our place in it. I also enjoy reading Ray Kurzweil’s books, including his recent Fantastic Voyage which touts the benefits of organic food and avoiding environmental pollutants as a way to promote our health, until technology has progressed to the point where we can repair our bodies and even upgrade them, with the use of nanotechnology and cybernetics.

BILL: With the obvious need for renewable energy sources, what do you make of the involvement of government? Not any particular government, but governments in general.

STEVE: It’s quite evident that so far the average person isn’t interested in energy conservation as an altruistic gesture, and people tend to have an aversion to change especially if they believe they will be deprived of something. Before even looking at alternative energy sources, actual demand must be looked at, and that means energy conservation. Government (USA and Canada) programs like Energy Star provide efficiency ratings for consumer appliances to make it easy for people to purchase energy efficient items. This standard covers everything from refrigerators to washing machines to computers, and is designed to show the energy (and therefore financial) savings with these products. The concept of renewable resources is just as relevant to financial matters as it is to environmental situations. In financial terms, non-renewable resources like oil and coal are like spending your savings, whereas renewable resources such as biomass, wind, solar and tidal energy, are akin to spending profit; the capital is still there. Government programs to promote renewable energy are vital, because they have the money to back up the necessary research into new technology, but also because they have the authority to change laws to make the programs succeed. 20 years ago governments got together to address the problem of the growing ozone hole, and agreed to fix it. Today CFCs have largely been banned, and the ozone hole will slowly repair itself. If today’s governments applied the same enthusiasm to phasing out non-renewable fuel sources, the world could be powered entirely by renewable resources within a matter of decades. In order for this to happen, grants must continue to be given to alternative energy research, wind farms and other facilities must be built, and a carbon tax must be levied on the heaviest polluters and oil consumers, This will result in a shift to renewable energy far faster than even the biggest Greenpeace rally, or the catchiest bumper sticker.

This interview will be concluded in part 3 of 3.

Stay tuned…

Interview with Steve King, Part 1 of 3

Bill Perry — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 22:05:41 +0000

This is part 1 in a 3-part interview of Steve King. Steve is a 26 year old environmental engineer, writer, geek, entrepreneur, and creator of the website The Green Geek. He writes about environmental issues from a technology point of view, and is currently working on a book on this topic.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

BILL:, Steve, thanks for being with us.

STEVE: Glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

BILL: I read your article about saving money through conservation, and you offered an excellent example of switching light bulbs. For my Readers, could you explain how it is really possible to save so much money just by switching light bulbs?

STEVE: In order to answer this question, let’s look at how light bulbs work. A typical incandescent light bulb works by heating a tungsten filament to the point of incandescence, which means it’s so hot it’s giving off light. However, only about 10% of the energy gets converted to light; the rest is converted to heat. This not only means you’re wasting 90% of your money for your lighting; you’re also creating possibly unwanted heat. If your house has 15 light bulbs, each one 100 watts at 10% efficiency, that is approximately 1,350 watts of heat. This is roughly the same as an electric space heater. If you have your lights on during the summer, or if you live in a warm climate, you have an extra heating load which. If you have air conditioning, it needs to work that much harder to make your home comfortable. In the winter this might not seem like such a bad thing since you need to heat the building anyways, but it’s still a rather expensive heating method. There are alternatives that save energy, money, and don’t turn your home into a giant Easy-Bake oven. The most common new type of light bulb is the compact fluorescent light (CFL). Advances in recent years have eliminated the harsh white light, and the annoying flicker. CFL’s cost a bit more than incandescent lights, but they have many advantages. Their lifespan is considerably longer, up to 7 years. They also don’t produce heat, which reduces your cooling load. What about the light though? Lighting is measured in Lumens, the wattage rating is the amount of electrical energy required to produce the desired lumens. A typical 75 watt incandescent light bulb will produce approximately 1,200 lumens; however a compact fluorescent light can provide the same light output for only 16 watts. This also equates to 1/4 of the electrical cost. At roughly $4 per bulb, each light would pay for itself within a year and would be putting money in your pocket for the next 6 years after that. If you spent the money to replace all the commonly used lights in your home or office with CFL’s, the savings will be in the hundreds of dollars. That savings goes directly to your bottom line, and is a very sound investment.

BILL: Why is environmentalism important to personal finance? Are they related?

STEVE: Ecology and economics are closely related, both words stem from the Greek word “oikos”, which means house. Economics is derived from the Greek word oikonomos and is made of the words oikos (house) and nemein (to manage) which translates as “One who manages a household”. Ecology, likewise, is also derived from the word oikos, along with the word “logie”, which translates as “study of”. Therefore, economics is the management of the house, and ecology is the study of the house. The environment, in every respect, is very literally our “house”; these words are an apt description for the system we find ourselves in. Our economy is based on the natural world, but our ecology tells us that the very same economy is destroying the natural world. We all need to realize that we’re living an unsustainable lifestyle… We’re using resources far faster than the planet can replenish them and expelling waste far faster than the planet can absorb. The Earth is everything to us. It represents all we have, and all we’ve ever had. In financial terms, the resources available to us are our capital. We have metals, trees, water, animals, oil, and a myriad of other things we can use. In a capitalist system the resources, a.k.a. capital, are used to generate profits. If the capital is used up improperly, its ability to generate profit is reduced. In a successful model, the capital remains the same or even increases, which allows for a continued and increasing profit to be made. With our natural capital, however, it’s being squandered with very little being reinvested. Forestry is just fine if it’s done properly, but clear cutting a natural forest not only destroys the forest, it also prevents it from growing any more trees. The capital is being liquidated at an alarming rate, and being called profit! Some major shifts need to be made in our mindsets, in order to reverse this trend. We don’t need to give up our comfortable way of life to do so, but we’ll need to make a few changes in order to accomplish it.

BILL: Are there other cost-effective things that real estate and property owners can do to their existing properties to save on energy cost?

STEVE: Absolutely, I’ve already mentioned the savings potential from switching to CF lights, but there are several other things you can do. A very cost-effective action is to have a Home Energy Audit. This is an audit of your property to determine energy use and wastage. Based on the audit’s findings, you may be eligible for rebates towards improving your energy efficiency. The audit will indicate where your property is losing heat, and where electricity and natural gas are being wasted. The auditor may use tools such as a thermal imaging camera, which takes a heat picture of your property to see where heat is being lost. This is effective in the summer as well, for detecting any losses of cold air from inside an air conditioned house. The audit report will make recommendations for specific energy saving actions to be taken, and will include things like replacing light bulbs, showerheads and duct filters, adding insulation to basement/crawlspace walls and in an attic space, as well as applying caulking or weather stripping around doors and windows. A programmable thermostat is something that can also be added easily and will not only save energy costs by reducing waste, it also has the potential to increase property value. Finally, other actions such as closing blinds or curtains during the brightest parts of the day and opening windows at night will all reduce the need for air conditioner cooling, without costing much money. A long term action would also be to plant shade trees in front of south-facing windows. Once the trees mature, during the summer this will prevent excessive solar gain into the house but will allow for wanted solar gain and sunlight during winter months.

BILL: What energy-saving features should they look for in future
properties before buying?

STEVE: If any appliances come with the property, they should be Energy Star rated. Basement and attic surfaces should be insulated. A programmable thermostat is a bonus, but can be easily installed at any time for less than $100. In terms of heating and cooling, a high efficiency natural gas or electric furnace will save money as will a high efficiency air conditioner. However, a ground source heat pump can provide both benefits at very high efficiencies, with no cost other than the electricity required to run the pumps. Regardless of the heating or cooling system, a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a very desirable item to look for. The building’s ventilation system removes moisture and stale air and replaces it with fresh air, but it also removes any heat you’ve added and vents it outside. In warmer months, this also means that you’re air conditioning the outside as well. A HRV transfers heat between the outgoing and the incoming air streams. A HRV will help maintain temperature inside the building, which provides tremendous cost savings due to a reduced heating and/or cooling load.

Stay tuned for part 2 of my interview with Steve King, the Green Geek.

Why Charity is Essential in the Pursuit of Prosperity

Bill Perry — Thu, 18 May 2006 00:28:00 +0000

Why Charity is Essential in the Pursuit of Prosperity

By
Bill Perry
“There is more than enough” — Anonymous

In this article, I will explain why I believe Charity is absolutely and totally essential if we ever want to be truly prosperous. Please bear in mind that Charity is more about the ACT and PROCESS of giving, not the thing given. Charity can also be the giving of your Time, the giving of a Compliment, and so on. However, since my blog is centrally focused on Spirituality as applied to Financial Freedom, I will be focusing on charity the giving of Money.

The spiritual law I think of most when thinking about Charity is the “Law of Circulation”. Dr. Ernest Holmes writes that “When the law of circulation is retarded, stagnation results. It is only when we allow the Divine current to flow through us, in and out, we really express life. The law of giving and receiving is definite.”(1)

The Clearest example I can offer to explain what Dr. Holmes means is that of water in the ocean. Water in the ocean is in constant flowing in the form of the multitude of oceanic currents. If a pocket of the ocean suddenly decided not to flow any longer, it’s source current would continue trying to flow into that pocket. Since the pocket won’t flow anymore, the currents will no longer be able to enter that space, and will alter their flow AROUND that pocket. Such is the same with money.

The reason this is so, goes back to the Law of Attraction. The most often cited reason for not giving of Money to a worthwhile charity is “I need money for my family. Money doesn’t grow on trees, ya know.” This line of thinking, in keeping with the Law of Attraction, ensures that there will be a limited supply of money, as the currents of the flow of money will flow AROUND that pocket of stagnated money, and stagnated thought.

Since I am on the subject of money flow, I’ll tell a little bit now on the practical reason of Why Charity is Essential in the Pursuit of Prosperity. There is a belief in New Thought that “There is more than enough”. This means that there is such think as lack when it comes to Supply. It is a known fact that there is a certain amount of actual printed money in the entire world. What a lot of beginners fail to realize though, is that if we keep the money in circulation, then there will always be more than enough for everyone to have what they want and need in life.

As an example, a person receives their paycheck of $1000. If they tithe from their paycheck, then $100 is given to a charity/church of their choosing. This is circulating their money.

As another example, a person receives their paycheck of $1000, and puts 10% into an interest-bearing savings account, which is also $100. This money is ALSO circulated, because the banks use this money as their lending capital, which allows this money to be put to use in someone else’s life.

A third and final example. A person receives a sum of money, $1000 for uniformity across the examples. This person puts the $1000 into a safe and locks it away for “a rainy day”. This money is NOT circulated, because while it is sitting there, no use can come of it right then.

If we have a community of 1,000 people, and the total sum of money in this entire town is $10,000, there will still be enough money for everyone in the entire town IF, and only IF, the money is kept in proper circulation, and the thoughts behind that circulation are of Giving, and not of Lacking.

(1)Holmes, Ernest S., “The Science of Mind” , Tarcher/Penguin, 1997, p. 440

Why savings is important

Bill Perry — Fri, 12 May 2006 23:42:00 +0000

zIn this article, I will be touching on why it is important to pay yourself first, and set up a savings plan.

Why is savings important? A few people might tell us that it is so we’ll have money to “retire” when that time comes. Even more people tell us that it’s because In case an emergency comes up. What I would like to expound on here is something that not a lot of people may think about. Savings is important because of a little-known but ever-present concept known as the The Law of Attraction

Savings is important because, as you save more and more, you are able to look at your bank savings balance and it causes a definite shift in emotion. As you save more and more money a little at a time, you will shift to a position of thinking in terms of abundance, rather than lack and wanting.

The best way to describe this concept as it relates to the The Law of Attraction is a quote that came to me while I was thinking about this:

“The more you HAVE, the more you GET”

Well, that about covers it. I touched on the power of saving to actually bring more money into your life.

Take care of yourself and others.