Fruitfulista » Bicycles

The Oil Addicts’ Shot at Redemption

Cassie — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:05:30 +0000

There is really no getting around it anymore. We (in all industrialized countries and now many, many developing nations) are addicts. Oil addicts. And like most addicts, we try and deny and lie and say there is no problem. It feels too good. It is too easy. We don’t want to work hard to do the right thing.

Well if there is one good thing that has come out of the BP Disaster, it’s that we can no longer play ostrich and pretend there is not a problem. In the Stages of Change model, it says people go through various stages before finally making a permanent change (or relapsing).

These are the stages of change.

The Stages of Change

Precontemplation (Not yet acknowledging that there is a problem behavior that needs to be changed)
Contemplation (Acknowledging that there is a problem but not yet ready or sure of wanting to make a change)
Preparation/Determination (Getting ready to change)
Action/Willpower (Changing behavior)
Maintenance (Maintaining the behavior change) and
Relapse (Returning to older behaviors and abandoning the new changes)

Before the British Petroleum disaster I think the majority of people were in precontemplation. Not even thinking about it. Not even aware, or wanting to be aware. I would say, at the very least after this disaster we have moved to comtemplation, but hopefully further into preparing to change.

And what would it take to fully change and break our addiction to oil? A lot. It is not just in our vehicles which are slowly moving away from awful gas mileage. It is about everything that is made out of oil. And I don’t think we will ever be 100% off oil, but we could at least use it for things that we don’t automatically throw away 2 minutes after we buy it. The big idea? Get off plastics.

If we did just these two things (limit vehicular oil/gas and stop using disposable plastics), we could break our addiction to oil, or at least manage it.

The oil industry has done a great job of throwing doubt on global warming/climate change and BP is trying to manage public perception of this whole debacle. They’ve tried to greenwash and confuse, but I think finally, like tobacco, there is going to be a tipping point where enough is enough and we see through all the blood money.

It is much easier said than done, but the answer really lies in NOT BUYING SO MUCH STUFF. Especially junk you just throw away. And we need to hold policy makers and businesses accountable for making reusable things again. This is both an individual’s responsibility (in voting with what they buy) as well as the industry’s responsibility to stop making all this crap. And it’s the policy-maker’s job to make the better choices easier than the worst ones.

To limit oil consumption, we should:
Give incentives to people who walk or bicycle to work, or telecommute
Give cash-back incentives/deposit returns for reusable items like glass bottles
Increase the price of gas dramatically to fully capture the true extranalities, decrease shipping things in and out, and create local economies and encourage new, clean technologies
Institute policies that discourage driving in general and go back to mass transit, bicycling, walking, and better-planned communities -”active community environments”
Stop using plastic bags and plastic water bottles! -Stores should charge for (cloth) bags that they provide and then give a larger discount for people who bring their own. Disposable plastic water bottles should not be sold. Period.

There are probably many, many more, but this is a start. We need to look to what we can do individually, how industry needs to adapt, and what policy makers can influence. It will not take any one answer, but the biggest help would be to STOP BUYING SO MUCH! When you do buy, buy with care. Think about what you are buying, where it comes from, who you support by buying it, what it is made from (anything with plastic is oil) and what you will do with it -or the packaging- when you are done.

I just hope our contemplation of these things leads to some serious changes on the part of individuals, but more importantly society in general. Addiction doesn’t seem so bad until you see the consequences of it – in this case on the environment, on our health, on our bank accounts, on our future - on us all.

Money Choices Vs Money Traps

Cassie — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:36:41 +0000

I’ve talked a little bit about liabilities in terms of items that you spend money on that not only cost you initially, but have ongoing costs associated with owning them. I would like to talk a little more about the difference between money choices and money traps. Because money is a form of energy, and of power, there is a lot we can learn from these otherwise mundane occurrences about who we are as people.

Money choices are so much more fun than money traps, as you can imagine. You have control over what you decide to purchase and generally these are reflections of your interests, hobbies, preferences, or even addictions. They feel good, at least initially, to buy and decide. Sometimes there is buyer’s remorse, but overall these are items that you WANT, or else why would you choose to buy them?

Money traps on the other hand are usually things you were not expecting to purchase, but for one reason or another it is something that you will probably have to pay. This could be a car that needs fixed, a parking ticket, something that you thought was going to cost “only” X amount that ends but being double -or triple- that cost. These are the “random” expenses that are thrown your way because that is just how life seems to play. It is kind of like Monopoly. Sometimes you draw a good card, and sometimes you get sent to jail or have to pay a luxury tax. We generally neglect to truly appreciate the small windfalls that happen quite frequently if you pay attention, but we always notice these money traps that we seem to fall into from time to time. The traps or windfalls we generally refer to as “luck” both good and bad.

What do money choices and money traps have to do with each other? Well, on the surface they look like completely separate items. One represents the things you consciously bring into your life (or spend your life energy on) and the other represents things that just seem to happen, randomly. But is this really the case?

Generally the money traps are connected one way or the other with other money choices you made previously. Take my recent parking ticket. I decided I wanted a car and all the associated liabilities that come with it because I wanted the ability to easily transport myself. I decided to drive (instead of bike) and then park in an area without free parking (though I thought it was free). This seemingly random misfortune (minor annoyance really) was completely connected to my earlier money choices. Everything is connected in that way. Humans tend to separate events in our mind. I have a car. I got a ticket (or an accident, or a huge maintenance bill). Completely different, but yet without one choice, the randomness of a windfall or misfortune could not have occurred.

So the first lesson in money choices (or choices in general) is to understand that they do not stand alone. The consequences from these choices can be some that you may anticipate, or they can seem to be totally random. But we not only have the ability to make a choice in the beginning but also how we react to the “random” consequences (either traps or joys -like windfalls). The ticket I received was for $30. I could have shoved it into my glove box and forgotten about it. But instead I called the very next day and talked them down to $10 -about the price of parking there. It still wasn’t fun and it took time to take care of it, but this decision helped to lessen the impact and stopped a chain reaction that might not have stopped for a long while into the future (DMV, bills, court?, who knows).

If you feel like you got the short end of the stick in some situation, first think about what brought you to that unfortunate place in the beginning, then think about ways you can recover from it in the best way. You will become more conscious about what you bring into your life. Pick the battles you want to fight and ask if it’s worth it. Remember the saying: “Be careful what you wish for, it could come true!” You never know the chain reaction in front of a decision or after. And sometimes what may initially look like a misfortune can be positive in disguise.

The other lesson with money choices and money traps is that you may not be able to prevent all of the misfortunes (but many you can), but you can control your choices and this may make the difference of whether or not you can weather the traps that come your way. If you are conscious of all the little choices you make on a daily basis, then not only are you decreasing the odds that something could go wrong with these objects, but you are saving money (your life energy) to offset the costs of any random traps that may come your way. Be conscious of the drama that you bring into your life. Everyone brings in some, but just be sure that it is drama that you are indeed ok with dealing with.

If you buy, find, or otherwise bring into your life a __________ that you care about greatly, there is a chance that it will break, or get sick or get stolen or any number of things. You have brought that into your life because you cared about it and that is fine. But just be sure that you are willing to deal with all the downsides (known and UNKNOWN) to any of those choices as well as the benefits. Then when these random (set into motion by you) events do occur -which they no doubt will, work to make them the most positive situation possible. This is the connection where chance and choice meet: where free will and destiny interact. Make your choices well and your chance occurrences will be much more positive as well.

And remember to say “thanks” every now and then for the things you brought into your life that you wanted or that “randomly” landed there and brought you happiness. It works both ways. You reap what you sow; karma is real. Be careful with your choices and the traps might just set you free.

From Liabilities to Assets -Fruitfulista Road to Freedom

Cassie — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:30:04 +0000

As requested, I thought I would talk a little about what I mean by liabilities and assets especially when it comes to consumer items and other daily purchases. These are key concepts in the Fruitfulista philosophy, so I hope to explain them clearly. When I refer to liabilities and assets, it may be different from what most financial advisors may say. Usually, this is what you might hear when people talk about liabilities and assets (taken from this site):

Assets
An asset is anything of value that your company owns — including cash. Assets get recorded on the balance sheet in terms of their dollar values. Even if you used credit to purchase an asset, you still own it. Its full dollar value gets recorded on one side of the balance sheet as an asset, and the amount you owe gets recorded on the other side of the balance sheet as a liability.

Liabilities
Anything a company owes to people or businesses other than its owners is considered a liability.

Break through the Chains

While these are useful starting places, they usually don’t do the average person looking for financial freedom any good. So, I’ve made a chart that is basically a continuum from liabilities to assets in our daily lives. I tried to think of most categories that people spend money and time in (food, housing, clothing, education, transportation, etc) but it could be for nearly anything.

Most people have some of each of these, but I would bet that the majority of folks don’t have very many items in the far right column (Fruitful Living and Innovation) and probably have way too many in the far left column (Subscriptions and Modern Conveniences -that actually aren’t too convenient). The two categories in the middle, what I call One Time Purchases or Neutral and Frugal Living or Saving, basically are net-zero type activities or purchases. They don’t really harm you and they don’t really change your life too much. Certainly, however, on a continuum, if you spend more time in the Neutral land and not much in Frugal Living, you will never move up to becoming Fruitful or Innovative. So that is why Frugal Living is an asset instead of liability.

Click this link for full chart: Liabilities and Assets revised

But it should be said that it is easy to get stagnant in Frugal Living. So many people who have managed to get out of the liability section remain stuck in Frugal Living. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and for some people, such as those who are retired and ready to put their creativity to rest, this is a comfortable, safe place to stay. However, for those who are ready to move forward and live a fruitful life, it will entail some risks, adventures and innovation. You must be careful to not turn ruthless in this last step. Basically, on the left side, you are a slave, on the right side you are the master. You must be careful to rule as “master” in a way that helps to set others free as well, rather than enslaving a whole new group.

When you move from just buying things after falling for slick marketing -especially unneccessary subscriptions- you start to look at buying things just once instead of over and over again. This is when you move from the worst liabilities (Subscriptions and Modern Conveniences) to the minor liabilities (One Time, Neutral Purchases). Then you start to think about whether you even want to buy it in the first place! And you look for ways to save or not spend money. You might start clipping coupons, going to the library, gardening and canning and other ways of saving. This is exiliharting because you have found a way to live without giving up all of your money for what is sometimes the exact same thing for very little or nothing. You have moved from the One-time Purchases to Frugal Living. You are free in more than one way. But this is not where you should stop!

That is the mistake so many of the tightwad, budget, frugal advice gurus. This is great that you got there, but you need to take it one step further if you really want to reap the benefits. You were in a casino, playing in their game of money. Turn it around! Open your own casino. As a master rather than slave, you control the world. Make it a better place. Help others get off the merry-go-round. Start cooperative projects. Not all ideas from the current ”masters” are bad. Use them to your benefit until enough people have reached that level that you can all work together. You, together with others who use and apply this information, will change the world for the better. But it starts with you!

Figure out where you spend most of your time on this chart. The vast majority of people will spend a little bit in each section, and that’s ok. Work to gradually spend more of your time on the right side of the chart rather than the left. If you are just starting out, you might be spending a lot of your time getting set up, finding a place to live, furniture, a job maybe. As you get settled in, you will be able to move to becoming more free and fruitful. Try to spend as little time in the “subscriptions” section as possible, even if you are just starting out. You can become frugal at any age and that will give you the platform of savings to jump into exciting opportunities to multiply your money.

Think of your money as “freedom fighters”, each time you spend one does it die right there? Or does it go out and recruit more freedom fighters for your cause (your freedom)? If you are ok with being a slave to the system, being in debt, worrying about money, then don’t change a thing and enjoy your “modern conveniences”, but if you want those freedom fighters to bring you freedom, put them to work in the places where they will grow and thrive, or at least stay safe (saved).

Going Green or Getting Greenwashed?

Cassie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:37:57 +0000

Lately, the buzzword has been “green” with nearly every corporation, government and now, of course, individuals jumping on board. Looking at it on the surface, this is a good thing. Who can argue that we shouldn’t take better care of our planet? I can’t even argue that. The problem with this “green movement” is that there may be a good intention behind it (and there may not), but it’s that the corporations are doing what they do best: sell. They are selling this idea and then they are selling all of their junk. The best way to be “green” is to save your green (dollars) by not BUYING the stuff in the first place!

I was recently listening to a program on NPR that talked about the Energy Star brand appliances. It was saying that the Energy Star has to use a certain percentage less energy than the equivalent full-energy model, but the hidden fact of the program was that some of the non-Energy Star models used less energy than the Energy Star, but because it wasn’t a new-fangeled thing-a-ma-gig it didn’t get the star. It is difficult to always know what the energy usage of appliances are, but many are listed online. To better understand this concept, think about cars and gas mileage.

Imagine you were thinking of buying a hybrid SUV that gets 17 miles to the gallon instead of 10 miles to the gallon that other SUVs get in order to save energy. Your current old sedan works fine and is already getting 25 MPG. By not buying a NEW vehicle you would actually help more environmentally than buying the hybrid (by not creating so much manufacturing waste and by-product) AND the older car actually had better gas mileage in the first place.

Other examples of greenwashing are most commonly seen by the chemical companies (Check out DOW chemical’s Green Recruiting and Human Element brand campaign) and the oil companies (most notably BP with its bright green logo).

Usually, the best way to be green is to just not buy so much stuff! You don’t have to worry about Energy Star if you don’t plug in very many things. You don’t have to worry so much about MPG if you don’t drive very much (walking and biking are the cheapest and healthiest forms of transportation). You don’t have to worry about recycling if you didn’t buy the thing in the first place. The best cleaning supplies are not from the new green products (many of which were bought out by Clorox and Proctor and Gamble), but are the simple things like vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice. (For kicks you should check out the list of ingredients in odor removing products- besides a whole list of awful chemicals, the number one product is sodium bicarbonate -yes, baking soda! It works great and costs about 50 cents) No huge company is going to back these statements because there is no money to be made by saying this, but there is a LOT of money to be saved by YOU!

A great primer on all this STUFF is called The Story of Stuff.

I read an interesting book called No Impact Man by Colin Beavan in which the author attempts to live without creating any waste. It’s a remarkable test, because it is virtually impossible in our modern, industrial world. What I found most fascinating and what shouldn’t surprise us is that the Keep America Beautiful campaign is just another greenwashing technique funded and supported by the manufacturing (mainly beverage) companies. This program that seems so great (recycle! plant trees! pick up trash!) puts the guilt of creating so much trash on the individual rather than the companies who make it. Wonderful isn’t it?

We should demand that companies make reuseable containers, not just recyclable. We should demand that they return money to us for bringing things back. I can barely remember cloth (reusable!) diapers, glass (reusable) milk cartons, metal (reusable!) utensils, and ceramic (reusable!) coffee mugs. How did we become such a throw-away society? And how did we fall for the notion that if we just buy MORE, we are becoming green? Because it’s easy to sell a good feeling that everyone is BUYING (get it?) instead of looking more deeply at the issue.

In fact, as another example of this, no major TV networks would allow this simple commercial (below) to be aired because it actually asks people to NOT spend money for once. But go out and buy a hybrid, sure. Go out and buy some “Human Element” chemicals, no problem. Pick up some organic grapes that flew half-way around the world, consuming far more oil than the local grapes, absolutely. (I hope you caught my sarcasm here.)

We have to watch that we are being marketed to in every situation. Actually in situations where we feel good about buying something you have to watch even more carefully because our defenses are down. I know that I fall for these things sometimes. Then I have to wake up and ask myself a few key questions:

If money is leaving your hands, think about who stands to benefit and whether you are ok with that. Then think about whether that purchase put you one step closer to freedom and self-sufficiency or one step back and more dependent on the system. Will that purchase bring you money in, or suck more out? These types of critical assessments will help you to know if you are going green or just getting greenwashed.

Housing Considerations For a Fruitful Life

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:12:14 +0000

After discussing why your principal home is not an investment, it got me thinking about what your primary house really is, or could be. In reality, your primary house can be something tremendously powerful, even more so than the supposed “appreciation” you can get. However, you must understand how your home can work for you, instead of the other way around.

When purchasing a home, think about its future potential as a vehicle to free you from the rat race and make you more fruitful. The easiest way to do this is by running a home business inside and raising your food outside.

Land size is important in deciding where to live as well. You want to be able to have a large garden and raise a few helpful animals like chickens, bees, and maybe goats for goat cheese or milk. Enough room for a water catchment, a nearby river, water rights and a well would also be preferable for your primary home. Consider a south facing home for energy efficiency and possibly solar panels. Why consider these things, you may ask. I don’t want to become a farmer, you may think.

Your Backyard Can and Should be Productive and Fruitful!

Well, if you are to truly become free (or at least somewhat freer) from the rat race and don’t want to sell out, you will need to learn to be more self-sufficient and get off all those subscriptions. You don’t need to do all of these things right away, but plan ahead BEFORE buying the property. It is easier to expand into these things if you planned ahead of time than having to move. (For a more intermediate or advanced look at this, you can check out The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour)

You may think this sounds like you must live in the country. That may be the case for you if you become completely off-grid, but for those hybrids among us who aren’t quite ready to live like Thoreau, living in the city can actually be beneficial. A half acre yard in the city can provide a family a lot, and many times because of the proximity to everything else, bicycle travel and connections to so many other people. It is wonderful that we have such an underground Craigslist classified ad market where you can sell your excess food and things you make at home. Another great online resource is Etsy.com for those artistic types who can make anything out of yarn, beads, or even pop tabs!

An inspiration who has truly utilized their home to its fullest potential is The Path to Freedom family. They live in the middle of Pasadena, but have made an urban oasis and business. Check it out: