Marketing is everywhere, man January 29, 2007

Book review of “The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing in American Life”

Oh, I really want to read this book. I am constantly annoyed at the sly ways companies market to us – most of the time we buy right into it without knowing it.

For example – remember the tv campaign they ran last year to warn us women about HPV, human papillomavirus? These PSAs kindly made us aware of this dangerous virus that could cause cancer. They weren’t selling anything… or were they? As Kari pointed out to me, they were totally setting us up. Now they have this whole “Be One Less” campaign with commercials trying to sell us the vaccine. First they create the problem in our minds and get us scared, then they offer the solution. How nice.

This article dated 11/14/06 tells all about it: Merck To Women: ‘Get Vaccinated,’ Be ‘One Less’ Cancer Statistic.  Here are some excerpts:

MERCK & CO. LAUNCHED A national advertising campaign for its Gardasil vaccine yesterday that plays up a theme of female empowerment with a call to “Get Vaccinated.”

The ads, created by DDB New York, portray strong and confident everyday female athletes and mothers and their daughters discussing Gardasil as the vaccine that can help protect you from the four types of viruses that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers.

 That was the part two of the campaign, here is reference to part one:

Merck spent $27.4 million in the first six months of this year, reports TNS Media Intelligence, on paid media to advertise the HPV message through its campaign to “Tell Someone.” Critics of that campaign maintained it was the company’s way of advertising a drug that had yet to receive FDA approval.

 And here’s an interesting tidbit for us living in the Great Lakes State:

Last week, Michigan became the first state to introduce an initiative that would require the vaccine for all sixth-grade girls as a requirement to attend school.

That’s just sneaky stuff. The scary thing is that it is everywhere, all the time. And we just suck it all in. Ew. I’m so disgusted. I’m seriously considering becoming Amish. How else would I be able to get away from all the stupid advertising?

Getting Fiscally Fit January 27, 2007

From Charles Marshall, a Christian comedian:

The beginning of the year is just the time for you to get your finances in order and take the necessary measures to secure your financial future. In the interest of helping you accomplish this task, I offer a few of my own financial tips that have served me well over the years.

1) Organize your bills. For most people, the subject of bills is unpleasant but it needn’t be anymore. Instead of ignoring them, I suggest you tackle financial responsibilities as I do by organizing your bills into three categories: Past Due, Way Past Due, and I’m Going to Have to Find Another Place to Live Next Month.

Congratulations! Your bills are now organized!

After completing this task you will no doubt experience a deep sense of accomplishment. Feel free to reward yourself by using your credit card to buy lots of expensive stuff that you really don’t need. You needn’t worry about the bills for these purchases because you now possess the financial expertise you need to handle them.

2) Build a relationship with your banker. This task will not be easily accomplished because bankers are strange, reclusive creatures that should be approached with great care.

In the banking culture, even showing your face could greatly offend your banker, so when introducing yourself to him, wear some type of facial covering such as a ski mask or nylon stocking.

You should also avoid verbally asking for money as this is viewed as uncouth and crass. Instead, write your request down and hand it to your banker. Be sure to phrase your request boldly in as simple wording as possible. A phrase such as “Give me all your money” is ideal.

When you follow these suggestions, I think you’ll find your banker will fall all over himself getting you the cash you requested, and you may safely assume your relationship with him is off to a great start.

3) Learn to budget. Creating a budget doesn’t have to be difficult or restricting.

Let’s say you want to take an expensive vacation but it isn’t in your budget. Does that mean you don’t get to take the trip? Absolutely not!

Additing such an item to your budget is simple. Just take a piece of paper and write the word “Budget” at the top and just below it write the words “One expensive vacation.”

Tah-dah! Now your dream vacation is in your budget! See how easy it is? Feel free to go ahead and call your travel agent right now.

4) Learn to save money. Saving money can be enjoyable and liberating. Suppose you have your eye on a nice, shiny BMW but you know you should be saving money instead. How does one save money when buying a luxury car?

Try this. Go test drive a Rolls Royce and decide to buy one. Next, come to your senses and realize you can’t afford a Rolls and go buy the more moderately priced $50,000 BMW instead. Wow! You’ve just saved about a hundred grand.

Using this very same savings plan, my wife and I saved over $9 billion last year alone. Does that make me a billionaire? Yes, it does.

Financial worries definitely have a way of getting you down, though. One way to combat monetary distress is to educate yourself about money. And it’s a good idea to get your input from someone who actually knows something about the subject, rather than from a comedian.

At the end of the day, though, there is no such thing as 100% security on this planet. In a world of chaos, anything can happen to destroy our financial castle. That’s why, in addition to exercising good stewardship with our finances, we need to trust the Lord with the welfare of our families.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and these things will be given to you as well.” Matt. 6:31 & 33 (NIV)

I don’t think that’s just some pretty verse Jesus spouted off to make us feel better. I think it’s a promise that you can take to the bank.

Um, but you probably ought to leave your ski mask at home.

© 2007 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a nationally known Christian comedian and author. Visit his Web site at www.charlesmarshallcomedy.com or contact him via e-mail at charles@charlesmarshallcomedy.com.

Paying with cash hurts January 25, 2007

We’ve been talking in my FPU class about the difference between paying for things with a debit or credit card as opposed to paying with cash. One family has already tried it out with their food budget. They made a trip this week to the grocery store with cash in hand and left the plastic at home. They found it much more challenging as they had to plan their trip and be much more careful about what they put into their shopping cart, but in the end they had all sorts of warm fuzzies because they knew they had not overspent.  

I am a huge believer in using cash whenever possible! Mike and I use an envelope system. Every month I put the budgeted amounts of cash into each category (amounts that we decided on together, of course), and when the money runs out we’re done. With the envelope system we always know how much is left in the budget. It not only eliminates overspending, but it eliminates Mike having to ask me for money all the time!

Here is one man’s conclusion after experimenting paying with cash for a few months:
http://matthutter.com/2007/01/24/my-experiment-with-paying-cash/

Proof of my messy capabilities January 18, 2007

This was my room on a typical day in high school:

 Oh, the memories!!

Consumer Reports made a boo-boo January 18, 2007

Well, this is a little more reassuring… I guess…

“Consumer Reports to correct its negative car seat report”

I read that negative car seat report. It was a bit terrifying. But now they are saying that the speeds at which they were tested were more like 70 mph, not the 38 mph they had previously reported. Oops. That would explain the horrible marks the 10 out of 12 car seats received. They don’t know who is to blame, but it’s evident there are some major communication problems going on.

In defense of mess January 18, 2007

A CBC radio production on the issue of tidiness:

In defence of mess. Ours is a society obsessed with tidiness. The Current talks to an author who argues we should all just chill out and leave the dishes for another day … it may actually make us smarter. 

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/current_20070118_1587.mp3

I think they are on to something. In high school I was a straight A student, with the messiest room ever. Really. I will do some scanning when I get home tonight just to show you all the proof.

Seriously though, our society has become pretty obsessed with cleanliness. Just walk down the cleaning aisle of any grocery store and you’ll see it. They have a cleaner for every use you could possibly think of. I still don’t really see what the big deal is. How many of us are racked with stress and guilt over our messy spaces, apologizing to guests that our homes are actually lived in? The thing we don’t realize is that we are the majority! Chances are, the guests we are apologizing to have homes just as messy or disorganized and they actually feel relieved to find that they aren’t the only ones. And I would argue that most people feel more comfortable in someone’s home when it has a little bit of lived-in dust and clutter than in a pristine palace. Am I wrong?

When you leave this earth, people aren’t going to remember fondly how shiny your sink was. At your funeral they will be sharing stories of time they spent with you. They’ll be sharing positive memories of your character, not your cleanliness. Life is too short to spend all your time cleaning. I say if you are happy and comfortable in your living space then so be it!

FPU Year Two January 17, 2007

Well, another Financial Peace University class has begun! Tonight was the second lesson and I am so excited about this year’s group. We had so much positive feedback from last year so everyone who enrolled this year is really motivated. I think they are all ready to make some great changes and I can’t wait to see the progress!

Enough with the suspense! January 15, 2007

Now I don’t know how you can tell from this picture, but the nurse swears…

 

… it’s a boy!

Mike is thrilled, I am thrilled, we are all thrilled. I just knew it had to be either a boy or a girl, and I was right! Now we can start registering for baby crap and finish settling on a name. We had a few candidates, and we were actually pretty set on Joel, but we’ve since changed our minds a few times. Just for some more fun and suspense, I won’t tell you which name we’re thinking of at this point (though I’m sure you wouldn’t have to twist Mike’s arm much to find out).

And if you’re interested in seeing more ultrasound photos and perhaps some of my expanding belly, go visit my pregnancy blog!

Little Riddle January 8, 2007

Just a quick riddle to keep your minds sharp:

At noon, you look at the clock in your bedroom. The big hand is on the five and the little hand is in between the 3 and the 4. What time is it?

Feel free to shout out the answer if you think you know it

Potty Break January 6, 2007

Last night I was at the mall. I was leaving the clothing store when I realized I had to go to the bathroom. I had to go really really bad. I was basically running down the corridor of the mall searching frantically for a place with a restroom when it hit me: I’m dreaming! I could just wake up, get out of bed, and walk to the bathroom down the hall.