Chickafinty ~ A Life in the Laundry

A word on housing "affordability"

Ross Greenwood was on the Today show this morning, spruiking the possibility of a new housing boom based on the "increased afforability of homes".

What the??

Affordability (apparently) increases when demand is high and interest rates low i.e. the current situation.  Huh??

I thought affordability was the ability to "afford" the mortgage repayments.

Let's look at a smaller example for a minute.

Demand for enormous flat screen tvs is high.  Interest rates are low.  According to the current economic model the affordability for flat screen tvs must be huge.

But it isn't.  A quick look at our bottom line indicates that we cannot afford a huge flat screen tv.  The interest rate is irrelevant if the repayments cannot be made in the first place.  The number of flat screen tvs is irrelevant if we cannot afford to buy one.

The average house price in Sydney is $544000.  By what measure is this affordable?  Over half a million dollars for the average home, when the average income is $60000.  On that basis you need TWO average wages to "afford" ONE house.  Huh?!?!?!?

The economists have gone mad, but that wouldn't matter, except that the government is relying on them to run the asylum.

Simply explained

Step 1: read this (link opens in new window)

Step 2: substitute $8000 tax credit for First Home Buyer's Grant,

and there you have the situation of thousands of Australians.

Some of them will be all right.  Most of them won't.

When will this debt madness end.

The Golden Parity Party (and that's not good news)

We're hit on all sides by the media.  News comes prepackaged in ever-decreasing bites and it is easy to just let it all happen.

Ever since I happened upon Chris Martenson, I've been paying much closer attention to the news, especially the economic news, and asking some questions...sometimes here, sometimes elsewhere.

Then I found Steve Keen, a local bloke (and economist) from the University up the road, and I began to listen even more carefully to the news.

I am not "into" economics.  In fact, just a brief glance at my mark in the HSC for economics will indicate that 40% of the students who studied economics that year did better than I did.

But even a limited understanding of economics can lead to the asking of questions that are being ignored in the MSM (main-stream media), or brushed over by the economic reporters.

Here's just a few questions that I wold like to propose:

1.  How can 27100 people have lost their jobs in Australia in August but there be no change to the total unemployment rate?  Sounds like someone is cooking the books to make things seem rosier than they actually are.  Why are they hiding the information and what are they frightened will happen if they tell the truth?

2.  Why has the price of gold shot through the roof in the last two weeks?  The gold price is (quickly) sandwiched between commodity prices and the currency rates on the news.  It's usually stated without comment.  So what, you may ask?  Gold has broken through the $1000 an ounce barrier.  That's BIG news, but no one is mentioning it in the MSM.  I wonder why?  (see point 3)

3.  A parity party is becoming more likely.  What's a parity party??  That's when the US dollar and the AUD are both worth $1.  It means the Aussie dollar is stronger, but that also means that the US dollar is weaker.  The weaker the dollar, the more money being used to buy gold rather than currency. (See point 2.)  Gold, unlike paper money, has intrinsic value.  A dollar is only worth a dollar because the Reserve Bank (or the Federal Treasury in the US) says it is.  Gold has -real- value whereas paper money only has imputed value.  The Aussie dollar is currently at about $0.86US but that figure is slowly climbing.

If the Aussie dollar is climbing against the greenback AND the price of gold is sky-rocketing, that probably means a loss of confidence in the American dollar, forcing those who know what they are on about to buy gold rather than paper money (or any assets grounded in paper money like bonds and securities and things...I said I was no economist!!)  High demand for scarce resource = high prices.  Why is gold going up?  Because lots of people are buying gold.  Why are they buying gold?  They have no confidence in currency with imputed-only value.  Why this lack of confidence?  There's a debt bubble about to burst.

Steve Keen has had a lot to say about dodgy economic theory and practice on his website and I encourage you to have a close look at his site and his articles, especially the one today which was published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

If you are further interested in this subject, may I direct you to Chris Martenson and Karl Denninger, who maintain comprehensive websites devoted to the GFC and what it means for the little person.  Unlike me, they know what they are talking about.

It seems to me that it's better to know what's going on, than to stand back afterwards and say "I didn't see *that* coming".

Boundaries

Boundaries are really, really important.

Boundaries keep us safe.  Boundaries turn the chaotic into the predictable, the uncertain into the certain and are absolutely crucial for relationships to be strong, healthy and long-lasting.

As parents we set the parameters for acceptable behaviour in our home where our children are concerned.  They know that bursting through a closed door without knocking or calling out first is unacceptable.  They are old enough now to understand that there are appropriate and inappropriate times to be around Mama and Daddy.  And (so far) they respect that space.  They understand that bathroom and toilet doors need to be closed...thank goodness we have passed *that* particular stage.  We, of course, accord them the same level of privacy.  They both know that answering back is not acceptable, that most questions require a yes or no answer i.e. have you finished that page of maths?  The answer is either yes or no, not almost/nearly/not quite etc.

They are learning that whilst some things might be acceptable in *our* home, they are not acceptable in someone else's home i.e. going into bedrooms, getting drinks for themselves etc.  They are further learing that was is acceptable somewhere else is not acceptable in our home.

They need to know those boundaries.  They'll try to test out those boundaries, especially as they get older, but it is our job as parents to put those boundaries in regardless of whether they will be tested or not.

Adults need boundaries too.  When adults begin crossing boundaries conflicts occur.

Some questions to get you thinking...respond in the comments if you care to.

1.  What boundaries have you set for behaviour in your home where other adults are concerned?

2.  How do you respond if those boundaries are crossed?

3.  Do you think boundaries are necessary at all?  Why/why not?

I wish we'd had six

There.

I've said it.

Make of it what you will, Internets.

Who knew?

Nine days ago I wrote this and under point #1 I had SERVE, with an open-ended 'if opportunity comes' attached.

Well, knock me over with a dead fish if two different opportunities didn't come my way yesterday, from out of a clear blue sky and an unexpected source.

I've got two projects on the "thinking and praying" pile right now.  They're not up to the point at which I could share, but as soon as I can I will.

One would involve a certain amount of honesty and punch-in-the-guts authenticity, not to mention tact, and from that point of view it scares me a bit, but my prayer is that God will make it clear whether to proceed or not.

Be careful what you pray for ;) 

To what end

I remember when Mister Bear first suggested that I try out blogging. I had no idea what it was as in 2002 blogging was not the thing to do. Now, ofcourse, every man and his dog has a blog, but back then they were hardly heard of.
I tried out blogging and very quickly got hooked. At the time I was dealing with my grandmother's imminent passing, the trauma of Chickabid's birth, the failure of my body to handle breastfeeding and a pregnancy that seemed to be going fine, but who knows what could happen. I was home alone most days, Mister Bear was working long hours, I wasn't handling the baby/toddler stage very well and I *needed* an outlet.
Bloggers tend to read blogs and I was growing a blogroll. As the years have gone by it has grown and grown. Through blogs I've gained friends and learned a lot. Each morning began with a blog check. Once I discovered feed readers this didn't take very long, but a day didn't feel right until I had a peek into the lives of others.
Then came April Rose.
I'll be honest and admit that I was scammed. Conned. Deceived.
No I didn't send money or goods. I prayed when I remembered but in actual measureable terms I lost nothing through the experience.
Unless you count the time invested in something that was not real. There were times when my two, living, breathing children didn't have the full attention of their mama as she was focussed on a baby that didn't exist.
Unless you count the trust that develops between a blogger and his or her audience. As a blogger I try to be authentic. The views expressed on this blog are genuinely those of this blogger. I may not choose to reveal all of who I am, but the parts fit for public consumption are real and not manufactured in order to build readership.
But April Rose has soured my view. I am comforted that bigger, more experienced bloggers than me were also taken in. (for what it's worth I think mckmama was scammed as badly as the rest and I think she's genuine...there's a bit of discussion in the net to the effect that mckmama is also a fraud but I don't buy it. Exploitative possibly, but fake no)
the time that I invested in April rose would have been better used for building my relationship with God, or my kids, or my home.
The April Rose experience forced me to take stock and from that point of view I am grateful for it

Rediscovering childhood Part 1

About three months ago the kids and I visited with another homeschooling mum and her four boys.  R. and I sat inside with civilised cups of coffee, while our kids played outside in a most uncivilised fashion.  Judging from the squeals and shrieks emanating from the backyard they were all having the time of their lives, and only came inside for as long as it took to drink some water, grab a cupcake and then they were off.

When R and I came outside, there was our darling daughter scaling trees, jumping from the trees and sword-fighting with the other on the trampoline.  My first instinct was to call her down from the tree, but one look at the glee on her face stopped me in my tracks.  She was having the most marvellous time and it put me in mind of that scene from Sound of Music where they're climbing trees and falling out of rowboats and they've never been happier.

For about a month, every time they've been "released" from the classroom, both kids have headed outside, her to jump and climb and play with the balls and the hoop and the trampoline, and he to dig his "well".  He's digging in the defunct and soon to be dismantled veggie garden and he comes in every afternoon very damp and very muddy and very, very happy.

Her peers are at dancing classes in skimpy leotards, shimmying and smirking at a pretend audience.  They're going to dancing competitions and coming to school with their hair tortured into curlers, or coming to school after a weekend of dancing with smears of tell-tale make up around their eyes.  They're six years old for crying out loud.

His age mates are at footy training, baseball training, soccer training or sitting in front of computer games and game consoles. 

I know that these are sweeping generalisations, and that not all children experience this, but it seems to me that childhood has been, to a certain extent, lost.   Kids don't seem to get the time to be kids anymore.  At university I studied Early Childhood and one of the points that I remember them making was that "childhood" as a separate stage of life was a relatively new phenomenon.  Until part way through the 20th Century, children were perceived as being little adults.  They were expected to dress like adults, behave like adults and take on adult roles very early.  Only the petted, indulged and wealthy were allowed to having schooling beyond about 14.

I would contend that now, at the beginning of the 21st Century, we're seeing history repeat itself.  Childhood, in its purest sense, is being taken away  from our children and once again we're expecting kids to take on adult roles very early.  There has been much written and said about the s3ckualist10n of children (please excuse the awkward spelling...I'm trying to avoid bots) and a quick wander through the children's clothing section of any department store confirms what social commentators have been saying for a long time.  The ladybaby and I are looking for a suitable dress for her to wear to a wedding.  We want something pretty, feminine, age appropriate (affordable) and warm - the wedding is in a fortnight.  Such a garment is not available in any of the shops we've looked at.  Some of the clothing is downright tarty and I'm not putting my six year old in any such garment. (found the solution for this: ebay!!)

Our children are expected to take on adult roles, dress like adults, take on an adult schedule but still be kids.  Our kids are exposed to adult themes, adult violence and adult relationships.  Even those charged with caring for our kids are prepared to treat children like adults.  This story alone should give every parent cause for thought.  A perfect example of a child being treated like an adult.  Kids are expected to 'specialise' in some sport or cultural activity before their twelfth birthday and your child is considered a bit of an oddity if they don't go to a scheduled activity every afternoon.  What do they do??  They play.  What do they play?  They just play...

Play *is* the child's work, and that's what they should be doing most.

(more coming in Part 2)

intercession

Created by God.

Loved by their families.

Battling the oldest enemy.

Join with me and thousands of other bloggers worldwide in petitioning our Heavenly Father on their behalf.

This is not a test

If this doesn't make you take the global financial crisis seriously, then I am not sure what will.  As usual hat tip to chrismartenson.com - my primary source of information on this whole debacle. As previously alluded to, this is not a recession as much as a depression waiting for somewhere to happen.

It's time to get serious about preparing for things to be different.  If our economic pundits are right we have probably 6 months head start on most of the other countries affected by the crisis.  That gives 6 months to get ready.  This isn't about panic, despair or doom; it's simply knowing that if the wheels should come off, you've got a means of coping with them.

Here's a few things to think about.

- how long could you feed your family from what is in the fridge, freezer or pantry?  Bear in mind that if you're hungry enough, anything is fair game.

- do you have a means of cooking food if gas/electricity supplies were disrupted?

- do you have any water stored, or any way of rendering undrinkable water, drinkable (see point two)

- do you have a veggie garden, or the means/space to begin one?  If the means and space are a problem, I recommend Square Foot Gardening as a place to start.  My dad has built a very efficient tiered garden in next to no space at their house.  He's a gardener at heart, but the book gives sufficient detail that anyone really could begin a garden, anywhere.

Those are the four areas we'll be working on over the next six months.  Just in case.