www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xmAC9Qu908

HA.

Sorry for lack of updates, I swear I had like 50 unpublished posts that just disappeared out of nowhere… What?

What really IS up with kids these days?

Well, bad children are a product of their bad parents (intentional or not), this is nothing new. What I personally see is an issue with current generation parents being really flat-out awful. We’ve become a society of I want this now and blame everyone else for everything, and their kids are a product of this society. There are plenty of kids without this problem obviously, but when a teacher is in fact afraid of teaching (get fired, don’t get proper ‘results’, too much focus on standardized testing) or simply tells the parents their kid has ADD/ADHD because they don’t want to take the time to teach them, it’s a problem.

Also, discipline. Parents are afraid of disciplining their children for fear of any sort or reciprocation, be it getting in trouble with the law or hurting their kids little feelings. In addition, parents have just gotten completely lazy and expect everyone but them to parent their kids—teachers, TV, the internet, ANYTHING TO KEEP THE KIDS BUSY. I’m going to also add that a rising lack of common sense in parents is affecting things as well, but maybe that’s not something new. Parents now commonly don’t seem to want to give up their “youth” in order to have their child grow up properly. Obviously you can have a life, but you can’t keep acting like a kid when you have a kid. Maybe the last bit is just more of a personal opinion of mine.

Everyone believes their children is and always should be unique, when the fact is no one strives to be any better when they think they’re good enough.

Knowing what to have prepared when you move is critical. If you’re going to be driving to your new destination you want to do your best to avoid any issues along the way—no one wants to get screwed while they’re far away from home. Be sure your car is prepared for a long journey, be sure you have everything you need on you in case you get pulled over—cops don’t seem to like people out of state causing them problems. On that note, it’s always a good idea to keep certain things on you at all times, and make sure you don’t carry other things that may become a problem should you lose them. Remember, being stressed out is the complete opposite of trying to chill, so we must do everything in our power to (sanely) avoid it. With that said, I’m going to leave you with a video of what NOT to do when your chill level goes down and you’re feeling stressed, after the break.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVxlCh7Hn-Q

• 1.) Keep a record of your finances. This sounds like a gimme but it’s absolutely key. If you know exactly how much you’re making and exactly how much you’re spending on a monthly basis you can keep a near-perfect balance of your available spending. It’s also a good way to determine how much you can put into savings or investments on a regular basis. I highly recommend using Microsoft Excel (part of Microsoft Office Suite) or download the free Open Office Suite which has a nearly identical software package. Create a spreadsheet with a month by month log of your income/expenses. Being specific is key here. To use mine as an example, the first column consists of my regular bills (mortgage, electricity, phone/net, credit card, etc). Below that I have income and an area for unspecified finances (job income, interest, additional income, additional expenses). You can use “notes” to comment individual non-regular changes. Below those are the totals rows (total spent, total made, total left). Use the following columns marked by month to enter all the numbers, and you’ll have a very solid grasp of your finances.

• 2.) Don’t let any expenses go unchecked. What is this extra charge on my phone bill? Why was I charged more this month? Go over your bills and note any differences or additional expenses. Go over your credit card statements line by line. Do not let anyone take any money from you that’s unwarranted. Research any unknown charges and be sure to dispute them if they weren’t authorized. Even small things make a difference. Got a cell phone? Keep track of your minutes. Most carriers will let you change your rate/plan to something higher on the spot and let you avoid those ridiculous per-minute charges when you go over your total plan minutes. Better to pay an additional $10 or $20 and lower your plan the following month than to pay $100 for going over your allotted usage. If they don’t let you do this, ask for their supervisor, their manager—anyone—until someone takes care of you. Which brings me to the next thing.

• 3.) Don’t settle if you have a choice when dealing with anybody taking your money. Always haggle. Complain if you have to. Don’t ever be scared or intimidated. Why? Because there’s always somebody else out there willing to do better than them. They know this. They don’t want to lose your business. I know it seems silly to say this, but complaining makes all the difference. I’m not telling you to be an asshole, but you’re capable of saving a lot more money when you fight to keep it. Whether it’s your cell phone carrier, credit card company, or even your doctor. Don’t ever settle if you don’t have to, it’s YOUR money. You CAN get those late charges taken off your bill, you CAN haggle with your doctor or dentist, you CAN prevent silly charges from your phone carrier, you CAN avoid unauthorized reoccurring charges. In the end, this will make you confident and it will save you money, which might I remind you, helps you with your chill factor.

• 4.) Always do the math. This pertains to the previous tips. You always want to have a grasp of what you’re spending and what you’re making. Don’t know what your APR is? Find out. Don’t know what “APR” even means? Google is there, use it. Not everyone can avoid credit card debt, and surely most can’t stay away from mortgage debt, so do not just look at your bill and pay the minimum or monthly required amount—you want to understand what every number means and where it’s derived from. It’s important to know how much money you’re spending on interest and taxes, for example. Do you want to put that extra $1000 into your savings or will it benefit you more to pay into your debt so you’re spending less on interest? Knowing these numbers will help. This brings us to the next and last tip for now.

• 5.) Be mindful of the future. This is a pretty broad one but it’s important. Be mindful both when you’re spending and when you’re earning. Key thing is to be able to plan ahead and be ready for anything. A lot of people got screwed toying with the real estate and stock market in the last few years, but you know what, being mindful no matter what and using suggestions like these can determine whether you’re still okay or whether you’ve got debt so unmanageable that you’re foreclosing and filing for bankruptcy. Those things definitely will bring your chill factor to near 0%, and we don’t want that.

Contrary to the lottery fantasy, you don’t have to be rich to be able to be confident and comfortable with your financials. Feel free to comment if you have any additional suggestions.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVjzd320gew

I’ll be posting reviews of the two books I’ve read recently. They’re The Ruinsby Scott Smith and Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Yes I know Jurassic Park is old. It’s so old, in fact, that the cover was ravaged by my 6th grade self. I had to do something while I pretending to read in class, right? I’ll also be posting what I got planned to read ahead, and hopefully I’ll be seeing Iron Man and I’ll write a review on that as well.

My reviews will probably suck and be unprofessional, but because in essense I’m writing it so I can try to chill, and not to be a shill (HA.. YEAH!), I don’t give a shit.

With that said, I welcome you to tryingtochill.com, where as a whole we’re trying to reach the maximum chill capacity on a daily basis. Because we know it’s nearly impossible to hit 100% chill factor, we’re going to do our best to get into the 80%s or even the 90%s.

Happy reading!