Why Houston is more prone to flooding than ever

[ToomuchStuff]

In some ways, wealth seems to get in the way of charity. Some of the most giving people I knew or now know were/are some of the least affluent. It's easy to cling to wealth as a life preserver but in reality we can withhold funds here and need them there...all unplanned more often than not. If you are well off enough to employ the services of a financial planner, I guess that's either the sign of a very diligent saver or a hard worker or one lucky sob. But earning that money seemed hard .....not as hard as deciding what to do with it though.

Certainly in some ways, I would agree. One friend of mine who gives away just shy of 6 figures, gets hit up by people constantly for money. That is one thing he was smart enough to get his agent to act as a road barrier for.
But another friend, I knew who he was for 20 years; only knew the last five of his life. He was Larry Stewart, and known as Kansas City's Secret Santa. (Williamsmith, PM me your address for a book about him) In an interview towards the end of his life, he talked about how giving away money was the most selfish thing one could actually do, because of the joy it gives. Quite honestly, I was always a bit jealous of the sleigh rides, because I had grown up and seen some of the things some of the riders (LEO's) deal with every day, and then I also got to know about some who have to worry about their safety, being able to go out.
What I have observed is the poor will give you the shirt off their back, and the next day when it is dirty, neither of you has a shirt. Those of means will open a shirt manufacturer, and give away a percentage of firsts, seconds, etc. so they can continue to generate shirts to help those in need.

I've grown up somewhere where I have seen/friends with both kinds. I fall in the former/poor catergory and must say that is almost entirely on me.

[flowerseverywhere]

In some ways, wealth seems to get in the way of charity. Some of the most giving people I knew or now know were/are some of the least affluent. It's easy to cling to wealth as a life preserver but in reality we can withhold funds here and need them there...all unplanned more often than not. If you are well off enough to employ the services of a financial planner, I guess that's either the sign of a very diligent saver or a hard worker or one lucky sob. But earning that money seemed hard .....not as hard as deciding what to do with it though. And in end stages of life, all that meticulous planning seems to have gotten you to just the edge of the cliff where someon is waiting to use up the last dime and push you over. So, I guess I just would rather dole it out so that when I lie down at night I'm not hashing over who is going to get the benefit of what resource. That seems like the lazy man's way, I will fully admit. I'd rather do that than go to the casino, remodel the bathroom and kitchen a third time or go get that Cadillac SUV that parks itself, stops itself and warms your buttocks in the winter.

i have met poor people who are extremely generous and rich people who are extremely generous. Judging people by what you perceive their generosity to be could be faulty. Many many people do things behind the scenes and quietly.

Yesterday i I had to go to Walmart to bring a neighbor for her prescriptions. As long as we were there, I picked some stuff up. At the register, the young woman asked if I would like to donate to the hurricane relief. I said no thank you. Little did she know that I have given blood every eight weeks with few lapses for the past 30 years at least, due again next week, donated to the Red Cross, and one of my friends has made contact with Relatives in Houston in one of the hard hit areas. to cut out the middleman to see what would be most helpful. They lost most of their possessions and are living with family members indefinitely until they can get back to their home or figure out what to do. A bunch of us are buying school supplies and collecting clean, sorted and sized children's clothes for her and her friends and as filling her wish list of what is most needed. one of my friends plans on bringing them up when she heads that way in two weeks for work. her car will be packed to the top with many items to help her and her friends in their recovery and it won't be like the nightmare of piles of clothes people drop off at shelters you see on the news someone has to sort through. As other people hear what we are doing they have joined in. We even have people going to the store and buying new clothes that she can give away if she cannot use them. And no one is giving junk or expired food, like I have seen in my years of charitable work. So at the register I may have looked stingy but that was not the true picture.

And on money net left over when you die, it is easy to see an attorney to have wills and papers written up so your money is used for exactly what your values are. It took a while for me to get used to that concept, however we have worked hard to save and I don't want my hard earned money to not be valued or fought over

[pinkytoe]

Everyone has financial setbacks and dealing with them makes people stronger.

When we were a young couple in our late 20s with a young child, we lost our jobs and house during the 80s economic decline. Looking back, experiencing that loss and having to struggle to get back on our feet was a key learning point for us. We learned to analyze any future actions (where to live and work, what to spend money on) with a much warier eye. The loss also propelled us into our simpler living journey.

[bae]

Our friends the French seem to think Houston flooded for other reasons...

[JaneV2.0]

If only it worked that way...

[Williamsmith]

My son returned to his house. Four people from a local church showed up and helped demo all the wet drywall, flooring and molding. He has to hire a professional remediation team to dry the house out but the good news is the air conditioning unit still works, the electric still works, the toilets still work. Both cars are a stinking mess in the garage and a total loss. The refrigerator is questionable. The kitchen cabinetry is a wreck. I asked him how much cash he needs to get going. He said, "Well, nothing right now dad. We have (insert an astounding amount here) saved in an emergency fund." Man, that was nice to hear.

[razz]

Good news always is great to hear. Glad you shared it!

[CathyA]

Williamsmith.........glad to hear that your son is in pretty good shape. This must be such a relief for you, in so many ways.

[befree]

that church that helped your son work on his house is walking the walk! The stories coming out of Houston are inspiring, showing what great hearts people can have. The Charlie Hedbo cartoon shows...the opposite. I guess everybody makes their choice to the kind of person they want to be, day by day