SHIFTING BLOG TO "DailyKostKutter"

Hi. Thanks for visiting.

I'll be changing this blog, with a different title and a slightly different approach. In a short time, I'll have a link to a new blog. I'm thinking of calling it "DailyKostKutter."

Until it gets set up and running, you can visit my other blog sites, which are:

• http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com
• http://smartpolitics101.blogspot.com
• http://murthamustgo.blogspot.com

I hope you visit these sites regularly. Stay tuned for the launch of "DailyKostKutter," which will be a five-times-per-week column that will deal with how to gain control of your life.

steve maloney

ambridge, pa

Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton: Creatures of habit

On Friday, November 16, I'll have another column about a film that deals with habits/addictions: "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." It deals with how a choice to change circumstances is one way -- and sometimes the only way -- to overcome bad habits.

When we want to learn about bad habits being hard to break, we can watch some of the current celebrities. People like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan fit Woody Allen's definition of "celebrities." He said they're people who are famous for . . . being famous.

They're three young women who "go partying." They drink too much -- and then get in their cars and drive. They have one failed romance after another.

Some people ask: "Since they have so much trouble with driving, why don't they hire a driver?" They certainly have enough money -- perhaps tens of millions of dollars.

In fact, the reason they don't pay for a limo service is that driving -- actually, driving badly -- is part of who they are. Frankly, they're not the only people in America who get a feeling of peace -- or liberation -- or exhilaration by turning on the key and going on their way.

Having someone else drive them is for them, one speculates, something like taking a shower in a rain coat. They have a variation on Descartes famous dictum: "I think, therefore, I am. For Britney, Paris, and Lindsay, it goes this way, "I drive, therefore, I am."

Thus, they drive for the same reason they relentlessly "party." It's a habit that only a jail term -- perhaps -- can break. Driving is something like smoking (at least for Britney). It's one of the "grown-up" things they do.

It's quite a habit. If they don't have a valid driver's license, or if they're obviously intoxicated or "high," they still drive.

These young women, "train wrecks waiting to happen," are the ultimate creatures of habit.

They get out of rehab -- or out of jail -- and then they go back to the same circumstances they were in before. And then they party . . . and drive.

If, say, Britney moved to Ambridge, PA, she wouldn't have to drive. As I explained before, everything is within walking distance. However, what my wife and I regard as "everything," she would regard as nothing.

I can hear her now saying, "There's NOTHING to do here."

Poor girl. She needs to adopt my philosophy of living better on less, but she never will.

Living Well in Ambridge, PA

I heard today from an old friend, Noel in NJ. who read with approval previous installments of "LiveBetteronLess." However, he admitted he had THREE cars (compared to my none). I wrote him the following:

Ambridge, PA is a wonderful place to live – one of those towns where everybody knows your name (or soon will). I

(If you'd like to read more about the details of Ambridge, click here or here.)

My wife Pat and I were walking (of course) back from the doctor's at the end of August, and standing near the sidewalk was a Black family, a mother and three children, two of them sturdy boys around 8-9 and a beautiful little 5-YEAR-OLD girl with "corkscrew hair."

I said, "Hey kids, ready for the beginning of school?"

The little girl looked at me and said in an intense voice, "I CAN'T WAIT FOR SCHOOL TO START!"I said, "Honey, with that attitude, I bet they can't wait for you to get there!" What an angel.

I'm a great believer also in diversity in lifestyles. And the philosophy of "LiveBetteronLess" isn’t appropriate for everyone. However, the traditional suburban approach to living has pitfalls.

I remember visiting my brother and his wife in about 1974 in CT. They had bought a relatively expensive house in, and they had two small kids. Only one room was furnished and their were beds for the kids and (maybe?) a couch. Hey, if you buy a nice house, you don't have any money left for furniture, right?

Billy (brother) and the wife were fighting like cats and dogs -- over money and many other things. It was The American Nightmare. They'd fallen into every trap our society offers. Eventually, they ended up divorced. Soon after, my brother lost his job.

It occurred to me that they fell into my philosophy: we choose our circumstances and they're what determines the quality of our lives. They’d bought a house they couldn’t afford, but assumed -- falsely – they’d be able to afford it later. And their lives imploded.

A good part of my own life depends on circumstances, including some beyond our control. In 1991, my wife had a totally unexpected stroke (cause still not clear), and I decided I was going to "work from home" for the rest of my life.

In terms of finances, I had many ups and downs, but somehow we continued to survive. She's disabled but not anything like bedridden or in a wheelchair. She can do most things she did before the stroke, although she has trouble talking and can't work or drive. If you only have one wage-earner, you must adapt your life to that fact.

The car ownership thing I'll talk about again (several times in future columns), but automobiles are the world's worst "investments." Of course, if work is 20 miles away, you're going to need a car!

As you may know, some people make a lot of money "blogging." If they have a herd of visitors, they can use the sites for advertising. I'm going to try.

There's a famous photo -- will send you a link -- of a guy who got from Google's Ad Sense a check for $132,000. At that point, you're talking real money. Admittedly, the blogs that make the most money are those that write columns about how to make a lot of money blogging.

Why am I me? I grew up in a different world from a lot of American kids. It's Veterans Day (yesterday ), and I knew well as friends MANY kids who were killed or wounded in Vietnam -- two from my elementary school, two from my high school, one the husband of a student of mine, and others. I probably grew up in the most pro-American setting possible. That affected who I am.I

I'm very much into animals, both domestic and zoo animals (elephants, polar bears, tigers), and my cat, "Larry Bird," age 20, is sitting on my lap. We now have two cats -- had three -- and they play a big role in our lives.

Our cat that passed away, Lucky, would sit in my office and holler when Pat or I went by. What was up?
Lucky it turned out wanted us to say, "Hi, Lucky" as we passed by. She was pointing out that we shouldn't confuse her with the potted plant.As far as work:

Overall, my health is good. I found out three years ago that I had adult onset diabetes, so a lot of the foods I used to eat (candy, ice cream, white bread) are now out-of-bounds. I also found out I was (mildly) bipolar, so I started taking a med for that, and it did wonders to improve my disposition.

In terms of ifluence on my life, one book that had a major influence was Thoreau's "Walden." People asked him why he didn't travel much, and he said, "I have traveled much in Concord [, Mass.]." I know exactly what he meant. I doubt he would have thought much of TV, but I do a lot of my "mental traveling" on the tube.

Note: This is Tuesday's column. I'll have more on Wednesday about living happily in a small town.

Changing Our Circumstances, Adjusting Our Habits

You know those New Year’s Resolutions most of us make – and usually break? We vow to eat less, drink less, smoke less, exercise more, adopt a positive attitude, take time to “smell the roses,” and then we end up doing none of those things.

We talk about people, mostly others, who are “creatures of habit.” In fact, that definition applies to all of us. It’s more than us having habits. In fact, we ARE those habits. What we regularly DO is WHO WE ARE.

In my previous piece about living in Ambridge, PA – or places something like Ambridge, a town of about 7300 people – I discussed how just every place I want to go is nearby. In fact, most places where I want to be are within walking distance.

I walk a lot, and so does my wife. If I lived in the Pittsburgh suburbs, where getting anywhere quickly demands getting into the car, I wouldn’t walk much at all. For example, if “the mall” is five miles away, I’m not going to walk there.

My “habit” is to a couch potato – and a car potato. Living in the suburbs – or residing “far from town” – reinforces my bad habits. If it takes me half the day to get somewhere, I’m either not going or driving.

I mentioned the places that are close in Ambridge. They range from the post office, to the library, to the doctor’s office, to the bank, to the drug store, to the grocery store, to the bus stop, to the pizzeria(s).

If they’re close – say, within a 5-10 minute walk – I’ll hoof it. If they’re not, I won’t.

In short, my habits are a product of my circumstance. If I’m in a tightly-knit community that encourages walking – my main form of exercise – I’ll do so.

A couple of years ago, I asked a woman in her early 40s how she stayed so thin – in fact, she had a “normal” weight. She thought for a minute and said, “Oh, I just don’t buy very much food!”

Bingo! If we buy lots of nice fatty foods, what do we do with them? In fact, we eat them. That is, we eat what we have around. If we don’t have it, then we stay nice and trim.

"If you build it, they will come," as they say in The Field of Dreams. If we buy it -- junk foods -- we will eat it.

What we do depends that is on our circumstances. In fact, we get to choose those circumstances. And the choices we make determine which habits we practice.

In summary, because I don’t have to drive, I don’t. Because driving is unnecessary, I get lots of exercise. I’ve set myself up not for failure in habit modification but rather for success.

WHY CAN'T WE BREAK BAD HABITS?

"If you're around long enough, you make just enough mistakes tp make it possible to learn a few things." (Me)

I'll be writing this weekend on why it is so hard to "fix" our mistakes. We've all heard about "creatures of habit," and if we look in our mirrors, we'll find out who those creatures are. Is it possible to break bad habits -- we all have them?

Yes, it is, but it requires changing the circumstances that keep us doing things we wish we didn't.

The problem is that our habits -- good and bad -- are WHO WE ARE. They're the way we do things because we can't really see any alternatives. (More Tomorrow)

Please read the other columns below.

Hey, Move! Living Better by Walking Around

In my last piece, I convinced you to save lots of money by selling your car. Well, at least I suggested it.

The selling the car part actually comes after you decided to move to one of those towns – like Ambridge – “where everybody knows your name.

I’ve lived in several places like that: Sea Breeze in suburban Rochester, NY; Williamsburg, VA (sigh!); Athens, GA (double-sigh, go Dawgs!); Bartlesville, Ok; West Hartford, CT; Springfield, VT (where “The Simpsons” movie premiered); Carnegie, PA (two miles from downtown Pittsburgh); and Ambridge, PA (18 miles from Da Burgh).

What factor is most important in moving to a town or small city? Well, since you don’t have a car, EVERYTHING’s gotta be easy-to-reach.

Ambridge has about 7,000 people – roughly the same sizes as Williamsburg (in the early 70s) and Springfield. Williamsburg, Ambridge, and Carnegie are in a three-way tie for placing just about everything where I need(ed) it.

I live at 818 Duss Avenue in Ambridge, an “old mill town” that somehow seems forever new. I’m right near 8th street in a town that has about 16 blocks of small businesses – surrounded by street where most people live.

So, what’s within 5-10 minutes walking distance? The CVS pharmacy, the Citizens Bank (and several other banks), Charles’s Men’s Store (nice, small), the post office, the Fire Department, the Police Department, the Ambridge Municipal Building (containing the place where I pay my water bill), my insurance agent (Carolyn Dunn), the Maple Restaurant (famous roast beef sandwiches), the use appliance store (cheap!), the Chinese Food place, the pizza place, and the Laughlin Memorial Library (lots of books!).

About 15 minute away – down on 1st Street – is my doctor’s office, a three-physician operation. Since I’m a big fan of the military, it doesn’t hurt that all three doctors are veterans – two, Kathleen and Donna, of the Air Force, Michael of the Army. They’re the best doctors we’ve ever had.

Food is something of a challenge. The old Foodland – 20 minutes away – closed. So we need to go to Pick and Pay, which is a 30-minute walk (gulp). But it’s great exercise – at least my wife says so, because she’s the one that always goes to the grocery store. Hee hee.

Like many Western Pennsylvanians, I share the addiction to high school football. Ambridge High School is right across the street, on Duss. The football stadium, named after historic coach Moe Rubenstein, is a one-minute walk. Go Bridgers!

There are a couple of gas stations/convenience stores nearby. But since I don’t have a car, all I do is note the petroleum price increases.

It’s true that we don’t have a Museum of Modern Art or a Yankees Stadium or anything approximating traffic jams

But we have everything we truly need within walking distance. Would we walk everyplace if we lived out in the fashionable burbs? Of course not.

This weekend I’ll talk more about Ambridge, why we love it, and how living here saves us a lot of money.

SELL YOUR CAR -- NOW!

"How in goodness name can you live for 10 years WITHOUT A CAR?" People ask me that all the time.

Answer: We walk (a lot), or take the bus. Occasionally, we get a ride from one of my daughters or -- on special occasions -- rent a car from Enterprise. That's the one that picks you up and takes you home.

A car: that's the entity that costs you $60,000 to buy when it's gleaming new. Then it costs you thousands of dollars a year to pay for, maintain, and insure.

After 10 years, your $50,000 car is a piece of junk worth $10,000 -- if you can find a sucker that will pay that much. Or, you can use it on as down payment on another $50,000 car, which turns out to cost $80,000.

Inflation, you know. It consists of spending more to get less.

A car is a VERY BAD INVESTMENT. In fact, because it loses value every day and every miles, it's not an investment at all. It's a money pit.

A car is something that makes the auto dealer, the insurer, and the oil company rich. It makes you, the car owner, poor, at least relatively so.

But, you say, "I've gotta have a car. Otherwise, how would I get to work, or to the mall, or to the gas station to pay $3 a gallon?"

In my case, I work at home. When I have to somewhere that's too far to walk, I take the bus -- either Beaver County Transit or (Pittsburgh) Port Authority Transit. If I need to go somewhere buses fear to tred, I bum a ride from my daughter -- or, on rare occasions, I rent a car.

All cars should be red. Why? Because they hemorrhage money.

In the 30 years I did have cars, I estimate they cost me at least $100,000. If I'd invested that money, it would probably be worth at least a quarter-of-a-million. I wish I had that money!

Of course, you may insist you absolutely must have a car. In your case, you might be right. But it still would be nice if had that quarter-of-a-million dollars resulting from being car-less.

Absolutely, positively needing a car isn't a fact of nature. Like most things in life, it's a matter of the choices you make -- mainly about where you work and where you live.

As for me, I've chosen to live in places -- like Carnegie, PA, Ambridge, PA and West Hartford, CT -- where I didn't need a car. I've chosen to work at home, sometimes in my underwear, and the commute time is about five seconds.

In a year, with a rental car, I spend less than $100 on gasoline. If gas prices go, say, to $5 a gallon, it really doesn't affect me.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about where I live -- its advantages (many) and its disadvantages (few).

steve maloney
ambridge, pa

Living Better on Less: Economics for Smart People

Do you know what the scariest moment is in blogging? It's when you start posting on a new blog.

In the act of writing, there's nothing quite as scary as a blank page. Right? Well, this one isn't blank anymore.

"Hope springs eternal," and my hope is that this will be one of the best blogs in, well, the blogosphere. I want YOU -- all the yous out there -- to feel comfortable coming here regularly.

What's this blog about? It's about YOUR constructing a lifestyle that's both happy, rational, and inexpensive. Frankly, many of your fellow Americans are spending more -- and enjoying it less.

I'm partially retired, and this DAILY column will be relevant to "seniors" (a word I can't stand, even though I am one). But wasting less money is a concept that's relevant to those of all ages.

The dollars you don't waste are ones you can put to better purposes -- including saving and investment. It's a whole lot better when you money grows than when it goes out the window.

Are you getting 2% or 3% -- or even 4% -- on your savings at the local bank. If so, they're ripping you off. You can get 5% or higher if you know the right places.

Are you spending thousands of dollars a year on a car, in insurance, payments, depreciation, and gas and oil? If so, why? I haven't had a care in more than a decade, and I neither want nor need one. (You'll hear more about that in the weeks to come.)

Are you worried that you won't have enough money in retirement? Well, stop worrying. It should cost a lot less to live as a retiree than it does as a working stiff.

What it costs you (and your family) to live depends on the choices you make. Make better choices, and your cost-of-living will plummet.

Am I asking you to deprive yourself by living on red beans and rice? Nope, not unless you're big on red beans and rice.

Think of it this way: most of the foods that are bad for you are expensive. Things like salty snacks and well-marbled strip steaks. Eventually, they'll do damage to you health, and you'll find there are few things more costly than being sick.

Are you paying too much for drugs? There's a company in the Pittsburgh area -- Giant Eagle Pharmacy -- that gives away some generic antibiotics for free. In life, it doesn't get any cheaper than free.

Anyhow, I'll be writing my first columns this week, and the first two will be about where I live -- Ambridge, PA -- and why I live here. Hint: it's a very low-cost place to live.

I hope you like this column enough to keep coming back -- and to tell your friends about it. My goal is to match my friend Cindy at The Pink Flamingo. She's been getting 10,000 hits per day! Heck, I'd be happy with a mere 11,000. :-)

Steve Maloney
Ambridge, PA

P.S. I have two other blogs, both of them political sites: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/ and
http://murthamustgo.blogspot.com/. You're also welcome to those sites.