As I drive around Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Prosper, et. al., in the norther suburbs of Dallas, I have trouble grasping the macro-economics for the region. There are SO many houses that fall into the $250,000-plus range. It is one row after another of nice, brick homes, each demanding an easy $3,000 mortgage payment each month.
That is 1/4 of a million dollars for lodging!
Tack on another $25,000 for a new car every 5 or so years, each with a 3-5 year car note for $350-$500 per month. Add on power bills ($200-$250 per month), food ($500 per month easy for a family of 6), doctor/dentist bills, and other necessities, and what is left for "disposable" income?
How in the world do so many thousands of families in this region support such a lifestyle? How can there possibly be enough good-paying jobs, particularly with the bad state of our economy?
I'm no economist, but my mind cannot seem to grasp this concept.
Right now, our family is living between two worlds. We are so fortunate to live mortgage-free with family in a beautiful home in a beautiful neck of the woods, as we await our house to sell in Beaumont. After that time, we will dump some debt and then save for a downpayment on our next home. But I can't help thinking that much of what I see in the hundreds of housing developments around me is a facade.
Call me skeptical, but a large percentage of the homeowners in these parts have to be living beyond their means. In other words, I wonder what the average (non-mortgage) debt is for the average family in this part of the country. What are the foreclosure rates? And are homeowners here really different than any place else in America?
I wonder if we might be better off teaming up as friends and family and "going in" on a house together. Split the mortgage bills and the utilities. Share vehicles and drive each other's kids to baseball and soccer practice.
This is easy for me to say, as a homeless father of 6 with too much debt as it is, but I wonder if things might be easier for us all if we teamed up to live the American Dream.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Trash Clans and Clunkers
Just got done reading a few chapters of Elizabeth Royte's Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash.
Interesting. Troubling. Inspiring. Entertaining.
No, this is not a book review or anything. I'm just thinking about some cool, personal project ideas -- projects that could feed me personally, help our family, and help me understand the "trash" and "gas" side of confronting consumerism.
Here is one idea:
1. Visit my local IESI landfill and recycling centers and see if I can get the grand tour. Figure out what happens with my trash locally after I stick it in the trash can.
2. Weigh my trash for one day. See if I really generate the EPA-reported 4.3 pounds (per person) of garbage each day (1.31 tons per year).
3. Measure the trash for one day when I recycle plastics and glass, and note the difference in pounds/ounces.
4. Measure the weight of my trash for one day when I put organic scraps in my vermi-hut composter.
5. Measure the weight for a day when I do both (recycle and compost).
I'm just curious what difference little things like this make. Is it worth it to undertake a project like this, or just a waste of time? If nothing else, it would be good for me spiritually.
The problem with these environmental/personal stewardship projects is that they often cost money. I had to spend $ on my vermihut composter, and still have to save up for my first shipment of red wiggler worms.
On a separate note, my wife and I are concerned with how much money we spend on gas going to and from Plano. It is a half-hour drive each way, and we probably take 10 trips back-and-forth each week. That comes out to about 450 miles every week combined on our '99 Suburban and 2005 Ford F-150 pickup. Both get about 15 miles per gallon, which comes to 30 gallons and about $80 per week. This does not include other trips around town.
But what are the options for a low-middle class family of 6? Trade in the Suburban (AKA: "The Blue Bomber"), which in 3 months will be paid for? Move our family again, and force our kids to acclimate to new, much larger schools yet again? Go into major debt just to buy a new, high-mileage car that can seat our whole family? The answers aren't so easy.
Some environmental/personal stewardship projects, in reality, take money and means to make happen. It is not yet practical for everyday families like ours.
Interesting. Troubling. Inspiring. Entertaining.
No, this is not a book review or anything. I'm just thinking about some cool, personal project ideas -- projects that could feed me personally, help our family, and help me understand the "trash" and "gas" side of confronting consumerism.
Here is one idea:
1. Visit my local IESI landfill and recycling centers and see if I can get the grand tour. Figure out what happens with my trash locally after I stick it in the trash can.
2. Weigh my trash for one day. See if I really generate the EPA-reported 4.3 pounds (per person) of garbage each day (1.31 tons per year).
3. Measure the trash for one day when I recycle plastics and glass, and note the difference in pounds/ounces.
4. Measure the weight of my trash for one day when I put organic scraps in my vermi-hut composter.
5. Measure the weight for a day when I do both (recycle and compost).
I'm just curious what difference little things like this make. Is it worth it to undertake a project like this, or just a waste of time? If nothing else, it would be good for me spiritually.
The problem with these environmental/personal stewardship projects is that they often cost money. I had to spend $ on my vermihut composter, and still have to save up for my first shipment of red wiggler worms.
On a separate note, my wife and I are concerned with how much money we spend on gas going to and from Plano. It is a half-hour drive each way, and we probably take 10 trips back-and-forth each week. That comes out to about 450 miles every week combined on our '99 Suburban and 2005 Ford F-150 pickup. Both get about 15 miles per gallon, which comes to 30 gallons and about $80 per week. This does not include other trips around town.
But what are the options for a low-middle class family of 6? Trade in the Suburban (AKA: "The Blue Bomber"), which in 3 months will be paid for? Move our family again, and force our kids to acclimate to new, much larger schools yet again? Go into major debt just to buy a new, high-mileage car that can seat our whole family? The answers aren't so easy.
Some environmental/personal stewardship projects, in reality, take money and means to make happen. It is not yet practical for everyday families like ours.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
A Cool Saturday
I'm sitting out back today enjoying some 70-degree North Texas weather. It doesn't come every day, so I'm chillaxin' on the back porch with a cup of coffee and a book, enjoying it as long as I can.
College football starts today. I'm trying as hard as I can not to get swept up in football fever this year, so I spend more time outside and hanging with the family on days off rather than cooped up in front of the TV. Maybe I will catch a few games as I come in and out of the house.
I preach my first sermon tomorrow at Grace Presbyterian Church, Plano, TX. Kind of nervous and relaxed all at the same time. It's been about 2 months since I preached my last sermon, and of course I want to get off to a good start in the pulpit at Grace. I'm preaching on the healing of the royal official's son, starting in the last part of John 4. In the message, I wrestle with how the royal official was able to take Jesus "at his word" and believe that he would heal his son. This is hard for us, to say the least. We have a lot of baggage about previous prayer requests that have gone "unanswered," and I think we are very gun-shy about taking Jesus at his word today. I will share some of my prayer "busts" -- prayers that I poured my heart and soul into, prayers in which I have taken Jesus at his word, and prayers that have come up "empty."
How do we get the courage to walk again into the realm of openness to the miraculous, brought about by the grace of God and our prayers?
These are some of the things I will explore and challenge us to wrestle with.
Other than that, I will just be stone-cold chillin' today with the family, and an occasional trip to the TV for Alabama and Penn State football updates.
College football starts today. I'm trying as hard as I can not to get swept up in football fever this year, so I spend more time outside and hanging with the family on days off rather than cooped up in front of the TV. Maybe I will catch a few games as I come in and out of the house.
I preach my first sermon tomorrow at Grace Presbyterian Church, Plano, TX. Kind of nervous and relaxed all at the same time. It's been about 2 months since I preached my last sermon, and of course I want to get off to a good start in the pulpit at Grace. I'm preaching on the healing of the royal official's son, starting in the last part of John 4. In the message, I wrestle with how the royal official was able to take Jesus "at his word" and believe that he would heal his son. This is hard for us, to say the least. We have a lot of baggage about previous prayer requests that have gone "unanswered," and I think we are very gun-shy about taking Jesus at his word today. I will share some of my prayer "busts" -- prayers that I poured my heart and soul into, prayers in which I have taken Jesus at his word, and prayers that have come up "empty."
How do we get the courage to walk again into the realm of openness to the miraculous, brought about by the grace of God and our prayers?
These are some of the things I will explore and challenge us to wrestle with.
Other than that, I will just be stone-cold chillin' today with the family, and an occasional trip to the TV for Alabama and Penn State football updates.
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