Note: rare rant alert.

I was reading an article in the Sunday newspaper where the financial situation of a family of 5 were described in-depth, asserting that the middle class is in a downfall. The family lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. They have a nice house, one car and one truck, and a $90,000 per year income between both adults. The kids, ages 8, 10, and 13 are enrolled in a good public school system.

One would think that on that income, they would be able to live comfortably. Perhaps not be able to buy all the latest toys, go out for entertainment often, or drive the latest snazzy yuppie-mobile, but they’re doing okay.

The story, however, revealed that this family claims that they are barely making ends meet and last month, were late or didn’t pay the bills for utilities such as electricity because they had to reallocate resources to buy a used car to replace one that died. Now their credit rating is taking a nosedive.

How can it be that they are in such a financial mess?
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I have a dear friend who lives in Hawaii. We have worked together professionally for more than 25 years. We share many passions and have about the same outlook on life. We have bonded closely with many shared interests.

Although we do not work together these days, we are in the same profession and belong to the same professional association. Last time we saw each other was at our Association’s annual conference last autumn. We played hookey for a few hours, went to a casual restaurant, and really caught up with each other’s lives.

However, there are differences. My friend is all about technology and social media. I am not. Recently, she sent me a message via a social media messaging platform. I didn’t see that message until a week later.

In it, she said…
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Yesterday was Easter Sunday. It also was a sunny, warm day. My spouse remains sick, so we could not do anything together. I really miss having his help, especially with physical labor and painting. Of all the trades, I like painting least of all. But my spouse can barely get between the bedroom and the chair where he sits most of the day in our family room, so there was no way that he could help me with some painting that had to be done.

I also do not follow any organized religion, so there was no reason to go to a church. Working full time during the week leaves me very little time on weekends to get things done. So yesterday was not a holiday — it was a full-on work day.

I pulled on my work boots and…
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