Monday

No Country For Broke Men

If it's one thing I like having, I must admit it's money. When my money gets too low, I have to make a concerted effort to be in a good mood. I hate that it drives me that way, but admittedly it does. My wife and I have a phrase that I use to let her know when I've had enough. If we shop too long or spend too much money I tell her, "I'm at my threshold of pain."

Now that gas doesn't look like it's coming back down anytime soon, I've once again come to my threshold of pain. Filling up three vehicles weekly is no fun (my college age daughter is home for the summer). Therefore, I've decided I'm going to save myself several hundred dollars by using public transportation to get to work.


I did the math and I spend about $130/wk on my car alone (that includes weekend driving), which adds up to $520 month. We won't talk mileage and service department visits. My wife will also park her SUV and drive my car only when needed. Either way we save quite a bit of dough by me foregoing parking my car outside of my job for 8 hours. Besides, my main goal is to take one for the team so that we can continue enjoying life without throwing hundreds of dollars away a month on gas. Besides a monthly pass to catch the bus/train costs only $60 and it stops right in front of my job. On the flip side, I guess I'll finally have more time to read.

I thought about buying a scooter, but I figured it would take a while to break even despite the 80 mile per gallon average you get on these things. This one costs about $5k new. I may consider it down the road, but not right now.


So tell me, what are you doing to keep some of your money in your pockets these days, maybe you're doing something someone hasn't thought of.


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Friday

Not Having It

It’s the weekend – finally. Time for something a little different. Take your wig off, sit back, relax and observe…

[click "play" (the arrow button) to watch]


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Wednesday

48 Laws of Power: four

Since bringing this to the table, there has been much conversation as to whether these are laws or simply a method toward manipulation. I would say they are both, since power is often corrupt in it's presentation. Nevertheless, I won't defend Mr. Greene's work, I will let it speak for itself and let him speak for himself.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (pviii)

It was in the scheming world of Fabrika that Joost and I saw the timelessness of Machiavelli and from our discussions in Venice, Italy, this book was born.

To those people in my life who have so skillfully used the game of power to manipulate, torture, and cause me pain over the years, I bear you no grudges and I thank you for supplying me with inspiration for The 48 laws of Power!

PREFACE (pxvii-xxiii)

The feeling of having no power over people and events is generally unbearable to us. And when we feel helpless we feel miserable. No one wants less power. Everyone wants more!

However, it is dangerous to seem too power hungry or to be overt with your power moves. You must seem fair and decent. So you need to be subtle --- congenial yet cunning! Democratic yet devious.

The laws have a simple premise, namely, that certain actions will almost always certainly increase your power --- the observance of the "LAW," while others decrease it and even ruin us --- the transgression of the "LAW." These observances and transgressions are illustrated by historical examples. The "LAWS" are timeless and definitive! (pxxii)

This book can be used in several ways. By reading the book straight through you can learn about power in general. By getting such an overview of the entire subject you will best be able to evaluate your own past actions and gain a greater degree of control over your immediate affairs. It is hoped that a thorough reading of this book will inspire thinking and reevaluation long after you finish it! (pxxii-pxxiii)

Also, this book has been designed for browsing and for examining the "LAW" that seems at a particular moment most pertinent to you. Several of the "LAWS" specifically address the "master-underling" or supervisor-subordinate relationship. (pxxiii)


Law 4

Always Say Less than Necessary

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

Silence is power. It gives you the ability to move things in a direction favorable to you without you saying a word. In sales there is a saying, the one who speaks first loses. I have seen this first hand. In times of bargaining the one speaking less usually gets what they want because the other person is too busy trying to sell their point. The more disinterest you show (silence) in what they are selling, the more they are apt to give you the very thing you want. Now that's power.



We got our game from our women, got our name from our women.

Tupac Shakur

When I was making my transition from high school to college I was in search of sexual power. Most dudes think having a good "rap" is the thing that gets them in the door, but that is not always true. Sometimes the greatest power you can wield is silence. Having a bit of mystery about yourself will get you further than a host of words. I learned this little nugget at the age of 17 from this sister named T.

T was about four years older than me and she was also the Resident Assistant in charge of the young ladies in our Upward Bound program. At the time I was in the "Bridge" program - high school graduates doing their first semester of college under the eye of the Upward Bound staff. Anyway, one day T was breaking me and several of my partners off on the error of our ways having witnessed us trying to put the mack game down in the preceding weeks. Now understand, T was fine, smart, and either one of us would have been more than happy to get our stripes by "pledging" her class. However, she told us if it were her choosing, only one of us would even have a shot. That one would have been the quieter of us four, my man Tony. She said it was because he never tried to sell himself. His quiet presence is what helped him "own" the room. Interestingly enough, Tony always had his choice. We thought it was because he played basketball. I guess it was but it wasn't, because while we would run off trying to hit chicks up for some conversation, Tony would lay back in the cut. And wouldn't you know, quite a few of the bigger catches fell his way.

Silence is golden, but the tongue can be a beast of its own.



About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Tuesday

Back on Track Tuesdays

This day will now be dedicated to promoting getting back on track. Right off the bat I need to deal with some spiritual issues. So let's dive in.

A word to the wise. If you aren't down for Jesus, keep your comments to yourself and keep it moving. You can sling hate on your own blog.


Dear Lord,
Thank you for putting up with me while I took your grace for granted. Thank you for covering me in my sin even when I didn't deserve it. Thank you for forgiving me so that I'm reminded to forgive those who I have an offense with. Thank you for allowing me another day to get it right. Thank you for not removing your hand from my life while I disregarded your voice. You are truly worthy to be praised. You are the one true and mighty God. Your love is everlasting. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains. Your judgments are a great deep. Lord I love you, and I thank you for choosing me before the foundation of the earth and I thank you for accepting me as your own. This day I will sing praises to your holy name for you are a good God. Lord, I send up these praises and thanksgiving in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.


I'm amped. I've been desiring a closer walk with the Lord and this past Sunday, I heeded the voice of the Lord and went to church (hadn't been in about 2 months). Just as luck would have it, the message was a blessing to me. So, I'm on a journey to build a closer relationship. I'm not proclaiming I'll be perfect. I'm just saying I'm going to make a concerted effort to read my word and pray as regularly as possible. I'm sure I'll miss it from time to time, so I'm letting all the haters who sit on the sideline know right off the top, you can keep your comments to yourself and when you think about pointing the finger, do me a favor and kick rocks.

Now that thats out of the way -- the topic for today:

Let's face it. There are many days that we just decide to "take a day off". I've surely taken my share, but here we are mid year and I still have quite a few goals that I would like to accomplish. Since I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I'm going to call on his help. So, let it be written, let it be said, I'm going for mine and with God on my side I'm certain I will successfully complete all my goals. As of late, I've been working on my novel (haven't touched it in a year) and I'm taking a novel writing workshop so I'm learning a thing or three. Needless to say, I'm trying to get my writing back on track. So far this year, I have only completed one short story and started a second. I need to do better.

So what about you. What area of your life is off track and needs a push in the right direction?

** Last thing, I'm still updating bloggers by region -- did Chicago last night, if I missed anybody, throw the link out.



About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Monday

Money Mondays


Hard times spreading just like the flu
Watch out homeboy, don't let it catch you
P-p-prices go up, don't let your pocket go down
When you got short money you're stuck on the ground
Turn around, get ready, keep your eye on the clock
And be on point for the future shock

Run DMC


Hard times are nothing new, especially for folk who grew up with the plastic spoon in their mouth. However, this run on the economy we are facing is in some cases the first time many people have witnessed times of struggle. With the price of gas increasing weekly, things aren’t going to turn around anytime soon. So what can you do about it?

7 Steps to Beating Hard Times

1. Pay Down Debt – Your cash flow is your greatest asset in good and bad times and the more cash you have at your disposal in hard times the better. Get rid of unnecessary debt. Don’t take out any new frivolous debt. Travel light and reap the benefits.

2. Eliminate non-essentials – One of the things I've noticed lately is less people driving around in the streets. Traffic is really cutting back, at least around my way. Pretty soon, it won't be enough to just cut out short trips to the store. Soon, you may have to look at other things like eating out for lunch on the daily or getting that regular $4 cup of Starbucks. Either way, getting rid of non-essentials helps you put the kick back in your finances.

3. Consider cutting back – sometimes cutting back is better than cutting things completely out. Everybody wants to feel like they have a life, so cutting back can go a long way toward maintaining effective economics. Instead of cable and every movie channel conceivable, try living with basic cable and a library card. You'd be surprised what you'd gain by getting from out in front of the television so much.

4. Create or boost up your emergency fund – having an emergency fund keeps you from using those credit cards when you don’t need to. I mean, that is what you got the cards for in the first place right -- emergencies. This time try solving your problem with cash.

5. Re-examine your insurance deductibles – if/when you have an emergency fund in place you can carry higher deductibles thereby limiting your monthly/quarterly premiums. This allows you to put money back into your pocket.

6. Create a “blow” fund – when you are cutting back in other areas, make sure you reward yourself from time to time by building a blow fund into your budget. This goes back to feeling like you have a life. If everything is save-save and cut back, you may eventually feel like you can’t afford to live this new lifestyle. Do something nice for you and your family.

7. Stay hungry – some of our best ideas and opportunities are created when we stay hungry. Don’t get over confident in your job and don’t live too long on your last accomplishment. Staying hungry allows you to keep a fresh perspective and it keeps you on the hunt.



About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Friday

Cause we don't love them...

It's Friday and y'all know I like to get my comedy on. This week it's coming in a different format but it should prove informational as well as funny. Join me in welcoming to The Rich House stage, St. Louis' own, Brittanie P.


[click "play" (the arrow button) to watch]



About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Wednesday

48 Laws of Power

My purpose IS NOT to promote the use of the laws of power to gain an edge against others. What I intend to do is hip you to the game so that you don’t get played. Simply knowing that game exists is not enough. You have to familiarize yourself so that when the time comes, game can recognize game.


Power Law #3
Keep people off balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they can not prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.


This is a common game played by many. You see it in relationships, you see it on the job, you see it in church, you see it online, you see it everywhere, that is, if you are looking. This misuse of power is most effective when a "screen" is utilized. But even then, chances are, something in your gut will let you know that all is not what it seems.

My experience has shown me that this law plays out a great deal of the time in romantic relationships. This can probably be attributed to the fact that most people don't have the access to play the power game for high stakes, so those who do play games settle for conquering in an environment that is resident. The weapon of choice in most of these situations is the smoke screen. I must admit. Growing up male has allowed me to see many a woman fall for “screens” and I've seen them executed in a manner reminiscent of my time on the hardwood. Just like in the sport of basketball, a screen can be set without you seeing it coming or it can be done in plain view with you unable to get around it if you aren’t thinking properly. Either way, to the uninformed, they are quite effective.

Blindsided screen:

This is executed when a guy who is checking you out decides he wants to get with you, but after feeling you out he determines it would be too hard to come straight at you. He decides to employ what I refer to as the “backdoor” technique. This is the "screen" that catches you off guard because it's built around the premise of “I just want to be your friend” or he keeps it casual like you are just part of the crew. All the while, he’s looking for his angle, his opportunity to get at you. While this may be fine in the case where the dude is legitimately interested in you and just doesn't know how to overcome your apprehension, it’s not cool when dude is looking to do dirt. By “do dirt” I mean, hit and quit it, play you for your paper, or use you to get somewhere he can’t get on his own. This guy uses the screen to blind side you so he can get his shot off. You can fight through this screen but you have to feel your way around the blockage. Follow your gut.


Open view screen:
Sometimes the hardest screen to get around is the most obvious one. I’ve been on the basketball court and I can clearly see the screen coming, but because of momentum I couldn’t get out of the way. When defeated in this manner you have to learn from it and hope to react differently just a step or two quicker the next time, but what if this occurs in a relationship. What if you are dealing with someone who’s perfected his moves and is able to draw you into the screen under the momentum created by the romance? What do you do then? This player is usually masterful at drawing up his plays. He’s done his homework, watched your game films and so he’s ready to approach you head on. The screen he uses is the “no game” game. He presents himself as the all true man. But there’s one catch. He wants you to sign him to the team with the hurry up. This cat is clearly hiding something. I’ve never heard the phrase “good things come to those who rush.” He wants you, but only to suit the end he has in mind. To beat this guy, you have to slow down the tempo and play at your pace. Make him ride the bench and earn his spot on the team. Chances are he doesn’t feel like he has time for that. If you react to the fear of losing this “great catch” you’ll pay the price when you finally realize he’s just taking up salary cap space and weighing the team down.

How about you, have you seen this law in action?


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Monday

Money Mondays


One of the many things I loved about living in Atlanta back in the early 90's was the entrepreneurial spirit of quite a number of the residents. The populous was very progressive and everyone helped to promote the next man as well as themselves. These days we live in the "me" generation, where it's every man for himself. I've never been that way, I'm always down to help someone reach their dreams.

While in Atlanta, I had the opportunity to spend some time with bloggers Tony Oh and Raw Dawg Buffalo. Those are some enterprising brothers.

Tony is amazing with a camera. Some of my best photo's to date were taken by him. He was responsible for all of the beautiful pictures taken at the Bloggers' Delight book signing. If the picture looked average, chances are, I took the picture.

If you are in the Atlanta area, or can afford a plane ticket and a hotel stay, Tony is your man. I'm sure he will give you a great deal. Here is his info.

Tony Stringfield, Principal Photographer
Media 2 Live 4 Photography
www.media2live4.blogspot.com
404-354-9839

Here are a couple more pics from my time in the ATL

Me and the Mrs.


Tony Oh!, CAPCity, and me.


I also had the opportunity to visit
Brain Cell - A Store for Dogs
572 Edgewood Ave
Suite 117
Atlanta, GA 30312


The store is owned by the in-house PhD, Torrance Stephens
His store is located at the corner of Edgewood and Randolph. Edgewood runs parallel to Auburn Avenue where you can find The King Center. Brain Cell is around the corner from the King Center. Also around the corner from his store is Thumbs Up Diner, a great place to eat and a winner of many awards in the city. For the ladies, there is a boutique owned by the wife of
Big Boi of OutKast.


From the window, it looked like they had some nice stuff. The store was closed during my visit,and unfortunately I forgot the name of it. Nevertheless, if you have a dog, and want to buy some great product, get in touch with Brain Cell. They will ship the goods to you.

Check out the product line:



[click "play" (the arrow button) to watch]


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Friday

Where My Bloggers At?

It seems more and more bloggers are getting together outside of cyberspace, so since I needed to update my Blog Roll (I know, I'm trifling) I decided to do mine a bit different. So, here are the bloggers I frequent most often by City/Locale.

If you aren't on the list and want to be OR you know some people I missed like (Stephen Bess, PRO, Blue Jewel, Marcus Langford, that Christopher dude from Bloggers' Delight 2 Write, and I know there are others so don't be shy - I'm too lazy to go look today so tell me where they are from please) say so now and tell me where you are from so when I do the links I'm done. Knowing me, it will be next year before I do this again, so by all means, speak now or hold your peace.

Here they are in no particular order: (I'll list them alphabetically when I post them with links)

Bloggers by City/Locale

The STL
Rich (shout out to my homies in FL who lurk my spot -- what's up y'all)
Cmac
Lea78
Suite B
PAJNSTL
Sharon – Just Write Now
Saadia

Atlanta
Mizrepresent
Raw Dawg Buffalo
Tony Oh
Literary Felonies
12 Kyle
Gemini Girl
Skool Boi Crush
Jali
Nikki
Xccentric Pryncess
Gecko Girl
Sista GP

New York (Surrounding Areas)
CAPCity
Eb The Celeb
The Karrie B
Jaded Nyer
Lance
Diva’s Opinion (New Jersey)

The Big C – Connecticut
Love Babz

Louisiana
Dream Cop 08

DC/Baltimore
CAPCity*
Juan G
Lola Gets
B. More Bap Life
Eclectik Relaxation
Diva’s Thoughts
LaBella Noire
James Tubman
Sales Diva

The Carolinas
Jaybee
Sheletha*
Jewells
Neisha


Chicago
Ticia
Slaus
Verbal Vixen
DJ Black Adam
Keisha "Kitten" Isaacs
Darius T. Williams

Houston
MysTery
Queen of My Castle
Femigog

San Antonio, TX
Nina Foxx

Philly
Field Negro
Knew Day

Pittsburgh
True Urban Queen


Unknown
Sheila (Black Tennis Pro)
Sheila G
Kay C, The Quiet Storm
Ms. Behaving


Cali
Ms. Puddin’
Ced – New Man
Gotta Let it Out
Pretty Black
Boss Mack Topsoil

Detroit
Shai
Muze
Dave (Lansing, MI)
-1- (Oakland, MI)
Sheletha (The Original Kalimazoo Vixen)

Cleveland
Kiki
Cortney Gee
DC Speaks
Lo

Florida
Xavier
Denea
Lady Shay

International
Tabu (Canada)

Mississippi
Don
The Pew View


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Tuesday

Putting it down in the "A"

Bloggers' Delight Volume 1: Love and Redemption, Atlanta book signing.



[click "play" (the arrow button) to watch]


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Monday

Money Mondays

All positive ventures bring profit.
Double D (Rich's Brother)


First order of business is some well deserved kudos for
Diane Dorce' aka Mizrepresent.

When I tell you Miz "represented", I kid you not. The Atlanta book party was niiice. For now you will have to enjoy photos, taken by the uber-talented Tony Oh! but as soon as I get back to the STL, I will share the video footage from the party as well as my time hanging out with the Raw Dawg Buffalo on game night over drinks and all around good vibes.
Folk is the realest, wait till you see the video.

Someone might be wondering, now what does this have to do with Money Mondays? I'm glad you asked. Most of the time when we think in terms of profit we think in terms of gettin' paid monetarily. Well, while celebrating the Bloggers' Delight Book event, I was reminded that profit comes in the form of people as well. In that case, this past weekend I was paid handsomely. First of all, I felt like I have been knowing a lot of the bloggers that attended the event for quite some time and for those that I haven't known, they presented a very warm reception. Don't take the term "blog fam" loosely, there are some really great people behind these blogs. It has been my great pleasure to get to know some of them more intimately.

Weekend in pictures

When I pulled into the parking lot of the Sky Lofts for my arrival at
The Grounds Coffee House, I was immediately greeted by the
beautiful smile and presence of

Jali of Jali's House.


My long time friend April C - Literary Felonies was in the house.
She ripped it with the reading of her excerpt. She definitely got the crowd HOT!

I have to admit, I always enjoy the company of my girl CapCity.
She's cool as a fan. Thanks for the Go-Go music.


I think I found me another road dog. Jewells is too funny, but you have to pay close attention to fully enjoy and understand this diamond of a woman.


What I love most about blogging: The fella's hold it down.

Blog Deep
Raw Dawg, Rich, and 12 Kyle

Raw and Rich - Blog Fathers

Ain't no crush like a Skool Boi Crush
and when you have a
Gemini Girl
by your side, life is twice the fun.


I'm going to break for now. Tony Oh! dropped 39 photos on me and it's been a long weekend. I will share more with you as the week progresses. But before I go. I wanna give a shout out to Anissa, Jewell's girl. She hung like she was blog fam. She was real good people to meet. Hope you enjoy the book and thanks for coming out.

and Kyle's partner - Boogie




About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Friday

Summer Bloggers Drive Me Crazy

Summer is made for fun and when you add bloggers it's even HOTTER! This weekend I'm headed to the ATL to get down with the Bloggers' Delight crew for the book signing of Volume One: Love and Redemption. Writer's stay tuned, Volume 2 is going to be fire, and we definitely want you in it. We will be revealing details regarding that in the future. In the meantime, here is a clip that I took Memorial Day while hanging out with blogger Sharon of Just Write Now. Check out how she puts it down every year. As far as the ATL goes, I promise to have plenty of pics and video of the happenings. For those of you who are in the area, hopefully I'll see you at:

The Grounds Coffeehouse @ Skylofts
898 Oak Street, Atlanta, GA.
See U there: 7-10pm.



[click "play" (the arrow button) to watch]


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Wednesday

Power Law #2

NEVER PUT TOO MUCH
TRUST IN FRIENDS, LEARN
HOW TO USE ENEMIES


Be wary of friends – they will betray you more quickly for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.



Being the entrepreneurial minded person that I consider myself to be, I constantly look for niches or ideas that I can bring to light. As good fortune would have it I came upon such an idea one September night in 1997. At the time I was in the video booth with my man C. Mac (sidebar: check out his blog or previous work in the links section) at our former church, Abundant Life Fellowship. This particular fall evening we were working in the capacity as youth leaders for a back to school concert featuring Gospel Rap Artist’s, A1-Swift.

A1-Swift was a husband wife duo that really could put it down. They had a mainstream sound, but all their lyrics were about living big for Christ. The house was packed. They had the crowd rocking. I remember during one of their sets seeing all these kids rocking their hip hop gear and it occurred to me that although these kids professed a passionate love for Christ, they looked like every other kid immersed in hip hop culture with their Nautica, Tommy, and Fubu on from head to toe. I wanted to change that. I wanted to create a fly Christian clothing line that could rival all of the aforementioned lines.

With money tight I set out to create the line with limited resources. I’m pretty creative, having discovered my ability to draw at age eight, so I began creating logos for caps and baseball jerseys. Caps have always been popular and everybody was wearing sportswear with the ascent of FuBu. So, I was on my way.

Once I had some samples, I began sharing them with some close friends and a few people who were mostly associates (some I didn't really trust, but they were friends of a friend). The response I received was mixed. The friends loved them, while the associates were like, “Meh, they’re okay.”

Long story short after a lot of time and money, the line never really took off. A few years ago I saw an opportunity to pull it off the back burner and it was at that moment that I had the wool pulled from over my eyes. Someone very close to me who previously applauded my efforts, confessed that they didn’t really like the previous designs, that if I was going to go after it again that I should look to do something more cutting edge. I said, “Now you tell me! I could have saved a lot of time and effort had you just been honest." They didn't want to hurt my feelings was their response. Give me a break, was mine. I also realized that I should have listened to the guys who I thought were just practicing hate. Winning over my "enemies" would have proven profitable. But you live and you learn.

This is a mild example of the principle, but I’m sure you can come up with some spicier scenarios where someone close to you caught you from the blind side. If so, and you care to share, by all means do so.


About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.

Monday

Money Mondays


The game getting foul, so here’s a free throw
Kanye West (Big Brother)



If I were to ask you if you preferred living free as opposed to being captive to someone else’s dream, most people would choose freedom. However, most of us live out a different existence. What I have found is that we voluntarily sign up for bondage in the name of gaining “good credit”.

Good credit is a trap. Why do I say that? Well, for obvious reasons. The primary reason being that in order to get good credit you have to subject yourself to being a financial hostage. If you take the road of never buying on time, you won’t get labeled as having perfect credit, you, my friend, will have no credit. If you do buy on time, but don’t dig your hole deep enough or stay in it long enough, you get penalized for not playing the game properly. So, in essence, you get trapped by the confines of the game.

I’ve heard comedians joke that when an African American marries a Caucasian the African American’s credit score goes up. It’s a pretty funny joke when it’s told correctly and there is actually some truth to it. Not because of race per se, but because by in large Caucasians have had access when African American’s were limited. Because of greater job opportunities and job security Caucasians adopted the “American Dream” philosophy at a level that outpaced most African Americans. Therefore, they were better suited to mirror the credit scoring models that were put in place. You see, if you don’t have the right mix of credit, it’s just as bad on your score as not having credit at all. Again it’s all a game. In order to have the BEST possible chance at having good credit you should have two installment loans (loans with a fixed number of payments), preferably a mortgage and an auto loan. Unfortunately paying rent doesn’t count toward your credit in the manner that a mortgage would, even if your apartment complex “reports your good credit”. You also should have three revolving lines of credit, preferably major credit cards and not retail store cards. If you are able to successfully manage these then you should have a pretty good credit rating. If you don’t fall into this scenario, don’t be alarmed, you can still have good credit, but you may end up subjecting yourself to other pit falls like too much credit and an improper balance of debt to equity.

So, what’s my point? I guess I’m trying to highlight two things. First, to even get in the game, you have to get in debt. Second, the game isn’t designed so that we all play on a level playing field. So, what you have to do is evaluate whether it’s worth it to you to even play at all, because if you do play you have to make sure you know the rules.

Some things you may not know about the game of credit:

35% of your score deals with punctuality of payment
30% of your score deals with amount of indebtedness or debt to equity.

Typically the first two knock middle and lower income individuals out of the game because they don’t have enough money to go around (living paycheck to paycheck) and if they have credit cards, they are maxing them out, especially in times like we are facing now.

15% of your score deals with length of credit history

Again, if you avoid playing the game for a while by using cash and have no accounts, then one day decide you want in, you are at a disadvantage. It’s like being a rookie on a team with several all stars, chances are you are going to have to ride the bench for a while and just enjoy practicing (paying on time). Keeping you in this game in this manner exposes you to risk.

10% of your score surrounds the type of credit you have on file.

If all you have on your credit is a loan for some furniture, a high interest car note, and your favorite department store, you are going to get penalized. In my opinion, this is a major area of discrimination, but I won’t pull out my Malcolm glasses today.

The final 10% of your score deals with how much you apply for credit.

In other words, you can be in the game, but don’t look like you are trying to load up the basket. If you do, you’ll be penalized.

So, as you can see, it’s a helluva trick bag they have us in. Unless you find a way to rise up to the levels of the wealthy, you pretty much have to play the game according to their rules.

Questions? Comments? Criticisms?



About the host:
Rich Fitzgerald is the author of the short story "One to Remember" featured in Love and Redemption (Bloggers' Delight Vol. 1), a collection of short stories by authors who blog. To read excerpts or to order a copy of the title, visit i-Lit. The book is also available on Amazon.