1¢ Cowboy

Best penny every spent

For 1¢, you can be a cowboy for a minute.  What a deal!  And from the picture, you can tell it was the best penny ever spent.  For $1, you could be a cowboy for over an hour!!  Or you could put in a full 40 hours and become a full-time cowboy for $24 a week.  Although, you may cause a riot with the little kids waiting in line while their parents to pay for groceries.  With a deal like that, no wonder there's lines!

And that got me thinking... what else can I buy for 1¢?  According tot he U.S. Mint, it costs 2.4¢ to make a penny... so you can't even buy a new penny for a penny!  So what CAN you buy?  Penny candy is extremely rare these days, but you might find a colorful gumball or chiclet.  But I'd rather be a cowboy if I'm going to spend that kind of cash.

There are online sites that sell things for 1¢.  eBay has pennies for a penny, although you have to go pick it up.  While you're out, you can also pick up a few other items for a penny... 2 envelopes and a single teabag of green tea.  You can also buy famous recipes for 1¢.  

The best deal I could find on ebay today, is a NICKEL.  For only 1 cent!!  Free shipping, too!  Buy enough of these and you could be rich!   Buy a nickel for a penny on eBay.  Oh, but most of them are already bid on.  So I guess that's more than a penny.

There are some jewelry making supplies that are 1¢... clasps, mostly.  Amazon has some great items like the VHS tape "Dance the Macarena".  You can also buy cheap jewelry for a penny on Amazon.  But wait... these don't come with free shipping... so the total is WAY more than $0.01.

There are a few antique arcade games at the penny arcade... although a penny arcade is even harder to find than penny candy.  The only one I know of is in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

World Famouse Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs

And I hate to burst your bubble, but this is more false advertising.  There are only 1 or 2 games that cose 1¢.  Most of the games cost at least 10¢, and lose their fun after the first time you play them.

Tell you what... give me a dime, and I'll let you spin this monkey in circles.

And the games that are 5¢ are even worse... 5 second peep shows.

**SPOILER ALERT**  More false advertising.  There is nothing lude in these peep machines.  

So, what is the best return on investment for my valuable penny?  Where can I get the most "bang for my buck" ...err "bang for my penny"?  

The savvy investor will invest in being a cowboy for a minute.

For the penny-hater, you can join a group called "Retired the Penny" at http://www.retirethepenny.org.  Although we'll be kicking ourselves when the economy turns around and a penny becomes valuable again...

What else can I buy for a penny?  Please comment if you have any ideas I missed.

Save or Spend? Old or New?

The title of my blog has been my motto for a long time, yet it speaks of two different approaches to life.  Finding the happy medium is the goal.  How do I dream, plan and prepare if I'm also flying by the seat of my pants?  It's very difficult, but I have found my own balance.  I come up with plans and dreams, but I don't set dates or deadlines.  Always thinking about what is best for me.  What will be the most rewarding?

My little boy has a piggy bank that says "Save/Spend/Donate/Invest."  He asked me "What does that mean?'  I explained what donating and investing are, and he laughs saying "I wouldn't do that.  I would rather save or spend."  Me too.  But when to save and when to spend?  That's a never-ending debate.  Donating and investing sound swell, but I feel I should be economically stable before I start throwing money into the wind.

I have a little obsession with technology... which is a good thing, since I'm a computer geek and electronic salesman.  I LOVE new technology.  It gives me a slight adrenaline rush just thinking about faster processors, high definition screens and all the possibilities of new technologies offer.  I have been this way as long as I can remember... all the way back to dreaming of getting a color TV (yes, color!), a cd player and a dvd player.  What a long way we've come!  Black & white isn't even an option anymore.  CDs and DVD players are practically obsolete.  Now it's all about that Smart HDTV and a supercomputer cellphone tablet.  What grand inventions!!  And dreaming of them is the only thing that gets me through the dreary dog days of work.

So, I research these magical devices.  What are the best features?  What's the best manufacturer?  How will my entertainment habits change?  And all of these questions really depend on what you think is the best... and how you will use them.  It's hard to imagine future entertainment habits when you don't own these new gadgets.  Many years ago I thought a cellphone was over-rated.  E-books were a waste of money.  But that's because I didn't own them.  I had no idea!  My cellphone has replaced nearly every device I own (camera, pda, mp3 player, watch, pen & paper, stopwatch, radio...) and my e-book has given me access to every book I have every wanted without filling up bookshelves.

All of these books

Fit on this device

In the end, I always come full circle.  I remember that I once had a black & white TV.  I once used a rotary dial telephone.  The gadgets I own might not be the latest and greatest, but they are 100 times better than anything I owned 10 years ago.  In the 1990's, the idea of a smart phone was incomprehensible.  A computer phone with a camera and built in HD screen that fits in my pocket???

And so I save.  That money will still bring me joy.  Just not now.  Technology gets cheaper.  So saving just means that someday in the future, I will get better things for less money.  My 2 year old phone costed me $200... and you can now buy it for $30.  While it seems pathetic compared to the newest phones... it would still amaze a low-tech person.  And my 10 year old TV is small and blurry compared to new HDTVs, but it's trust, theft-proof and a million times better than that old black & white.

My technological life used to revolve around these wonderful gadgets.  Kids will never know.  Do you remember being excited about what these devices can do?

What is "Cool"?

What is "Cool"?

Maybe I have dated myself just by using the word "cool."  "Cool" isn't cool anymore.  Neither is awesome or rad.  Yet, when I hear the words "dope," "tight," or "fat," those words don't sound very cool to me.  But this very sense of feeling "hip" and "on-top of your game" changes as you grow older.

As a toddler, I didn't have much of a sense of cool.  No real friends at that age, and being cool just meant I didn't poop my pants.  Having a bottle of milk or juice was pretty sweet, and Sesame Street was the best pop culture had to offer me.

As a little boy, I had just figured out how to have friends.  Now cool meant being friendly and coming up with fun imaginary games.  I was most proud of being able to tie my shoes.  And math was cool.  Chances are, Sesame Street was still #1 for me.

Pre-teen is the true beginnings of social cliques.  I was not cool.  I was awkward.  Too smart for my own good, and a total know-it-all.  I was good at soccer.  That made me feel cool.  I loved to write and draw, but for the most part I thought about things no other kid thought about.  My curiosity killed Santa and the Easter Bunny.  Sorry about that.  I had to do it.

Teenage years were a blur and a nightmare.  My awkwardness multiplied tenfold.  To me, cool was having favorite bands to rally behind.  I impressed friends by being good at video games, and just being friendly.  But my nerd side kept me from being anything near popular.  Who needs to be popular when you can be cool in your own way?  I liked the wild shocking bands that scared other people.  Cool was being a creative  individual that stood out from the crowd.

My young-adult life, I continued on this quest to be cool.  I was the coolest person I had ever met.  I dyed my hair green, started recording outlandish music and creating art.  Printed tye-dye tee shirts and had dreams of being the next big rock star.  And at some point in my 20's, I became that rock star.  At least in my head.  I am my own rock star.  I don't have to impress anyone.  All I need is a guitar, an amp and electricity.  Nobody can cheer for me louder than my own inner voices.

And in my 30's, I can hardly even relate to the idea of "cool."  I don't care to impress anyone.  I just want to be myself.  To be honest, respectable and a role-model.  There is a 5 year old boy in my life, and I do my best to make him think I'm cool.  We paint.  We play with Transformers.  We play video games.  We are cool together.  And there is a woman in my life who thinks I'm cool no matter what I do.  And that makes me feel cool.

Maybe being cool is just for young people.  As I grow older, I prize being content and happy far more than being cool.  I'll never be as cool as I was in my 20's, but that's okay.  I've impressed myself enough.  I've inflated my own ego as much as I could.  And as my ego deflates, it propels me into the future.

Are you cool, man?

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

"Don't worry... about a thing.  Every little thing... is gonna be alright!"  ~Bob Marley

I have been told that I am a happy person.  And it's true.  I thrive on happiness.  Even when I'm doing something that is not so fun.  Even when I'm struggling.  Even when I'm feeling sick.  There is always something to be happy about.  Oh, don't get me wrong... I do have my occasional mood swings when I get overwhelmed by the pressures of life... but in the end my happiness bubbles up and lifts me back to the clouds.

How do I do it?

I focus on what I DO have, and not what I DON'T.  There is always someone less fortunate than myself.  And we have to count our blessings for every gift.


Feeling old?  Hang out with people older than yourself.  If I spend too much time around those younger than me, I get called old constantly... and eventually I start to believe it.  Then I will hang out with people who are 10-20 years more experienced than I... and they tell me how young I am.  I still recall my 80 year old grandparents talking about "the boy next door who mows their lawn."  This "boy" was 65 years old!!

Feeling poor?  Take a drive through the ghetto, or take a ride on the city bus.  It's hard not to feel empathy for the people who are REALLY struggling... whether it be from their bad luck or their lack of mental and social skills.  I am lucky to have a strong upbringing and a good head on my shoulders.  And I'm lucky to have a job that pays more than minimum wage.

Feeling lonely?  Visit a senior center.  Or talk to a bum.  I may not have that many friends, but that's mostly because I pick and choose.  The friends I have are solid.  They're understanding.  And they are there for me when I need them the most.  And we often forget about the friends from afar that we have lost touch with... reaching out can reignite that friendship, and with it the comradery that we need.

Hate your job?  Don't we all?  If you liked it, then it would be called a hobby.  And as much as we would liek to get paid for our hobbies, once you do a hobby for money it becomes a job.  I have worked a lot of jobs, and no matter what I do... it will never be as bad as what I HAVE done.  Is there anything worse than getting paid $3.25 an hour to shovel manure out of massive barns in the middle of the summer?  Strange how the worse your job is, the LESS money you get paid.  And every job is an adventure.  How many people can SAY that they shovelled manure at the county fairgrounds all day?



I guess that, when I get angry for being slighted, or I get sad sad for my losses... I begin to think about WHY I am upset... and then I look for the positives.  There are benefits and detriments to every position in life... and things in between.  Life itself is a magical journey.  And I am fascinated by everything.

If you're old, then you are experienced and had many adventures.  If you're young, you have a lifetime ahead of you to explore yourself and your surroundings.  When you're poor, you learn what is truly valuable... like friendship, creativity, exploration and enjoying life.  Being alone gives you time to explore yourself without external distractions.  And having an annoying job makes you appreciate your free time.

I am happy.  I am lucky.  And it makes me happy to write this blog and share with you.  Maybe I know you... maybe I don't.  And maybe I don't have any readers at all... but I am happy to put these words down.  And happy to share my happiness with you all.


And maybe it's all because this song has played in my head non-stop since I was little.  My anthem and my mantra.