My mind on my money

How do you pay your bills? 

Me, I'm old school. I always have some semblance of an idea of how much I have in my checking account. And when it comes time to pay the bills and check the balance, it's usually within an acceptable margin of error, particularly considering my inclination to make impulse purchases via my incredibly convenient linked PayPal account. 

Also, it should be noted, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a PayPal employee with a year and a half's worth of vesting in the Keep Rich Out of a Dirty Nursing Home Retirement Fund. 

PayPal does an amazing job of making online paying quick and simple and without dicking around with filling in forms and other assorted mishegas.

Maybe I should propose that to the brass. 

Rich's New Tagline Proposal:

PayPal, stop dicking around with payment mishegas.

But again, as the first wave of caffeine has not reached my cerebral cortex, I digress. 

Like you, I don't like paying bills. But I do like sitting down with my coffee, my checkbook, a roll of stamps and a sheet of with my preprinted name and return address. Affixing those labels to an envelope without having to scratch it out by hand is one of life's more simple pleasures. Thank you, St. Judes or Wounded Warriors

As I was explaining to a fellow old school student (though a little less older than me) the other day, there's a tactile sense of control one derives from committing ink to a slip of paper that easily surpasses the clicking of the same computer mouse that brings up one more inane piece of client feedback. Or a stupefying message from one of your daughters that reads, "How do I turn the air conditioning on?"

If I had one gripe about today's younger generations, and now I guess, they're all younger, it would be their utter ignorance when it comes to finance, HVAC and money management. Also, it goes without saying that I don't have one gripe, I have a panapoly of gripes.

I even brought the finance issue up with Monsignor Torgeson, when my very Jewish daughters were attending St. Monica's Catholic High School. 

I had cornered him at a PTA conference and suggested adding that to the curriculum. I can't imagine the internal thoughts that ran through his head at that moment, probably something to the effect of, "Damn these people think about money a lot." 

Or maybe, "I picked a terrible month to stop sipping whiskey."

The school never took me up on my extremely pragmatic suggestion. But Kendrick Lamarr and billionaire Ray Dalio, have. 

You can read about it here. 

They've taken it upon themselves to produce a series of youth-targeted videos explaining the benefits of "Slow Money."

I still believe one semester in high school would be more effective, but I am just a quiet voice drowned out by the cacophony of parents still screaming because they think CRT is being taught and would prefer to cling their whitewashed version of history.

In any case, I never listen to or liked Kendrick Lamarr before. 

But seeing as he had the good sense to follow up on my idea, I do now.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editorial note: In a massive sea of banality that is today's advertising, I believe with 100% conviction, that my proposed PayPal tagline would set some hair on fire and reap huge rewards. But that's just my two cents, now worth even less.