moon.lemonmama.com at lemonmama.com/moon

2022 Q3 Blog Posts

二零二二年第三季部落格的文章

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-09-20 1401

The Haunting Idea of Paying Full Price For Brands Instead of Shopping at Thrift Store

This idea keeps coming back and haunting me.
It’s the idea that I should be paying full price to brands I love for possessions and things that I use every day.
in other words to say another way to say the same thing is that to give up the idea that I should always buy the cheapest commoditized product or thing.
now the reason why this is I say this is haunting me is because a whole life I’ve really placed a big importance on being frugal and not overpaying and also paying the lowest that I can for any given product or thing or service.
And so but now I‘m thinking to myself hey maybe that’s not ethical. Maybe that‘s not the life that I want to live and maybe that’s not the life that I want vendors in my life to live.
But then it haunts me still because then I’m pained because I still want to be frugal. I don’t want to overpay and I don’t want to spend all my money.
right now at this moment in 2022 I’m struggling with this and I don’t yet have a good “answer“.
so a couple days ago I bought a brand-name sweatshirt for ₷¤1.67 silver-bams.
And I love it and I have been wearing it every day.
But you know what I could have bought probably a very similar sweatshirt at the thrift store, or I probably could’ve bought a similar one for much less money at a department store brand not premium name brand but the department store in-house brand or such and such.
So what to do?
(to be continued?…)

In conclusion, there's a good argument for buying thrift store and paying as little as possible, but there's also a good argument to paying full price for brand names and enjoying them. So the question may still be unanswered.

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-20 1400

I’m Liking This Truly Hard Seltzer

https://trulyhardseltzer.com/flavors/citrus-mix-pack
https://www.kroger.com/p/truly-hard-seltzer-citrus-variety-pack/0008769200424

In conclusion, I’m liking this Truly hard seltzer.

Note: This blog post isn't a paid endorsement. There isn't any affiliation between this blog and the product company. This blog post isn't approved by the product company. I'm blogging it only because I personally like and approve this product. Also I may own stock shares in this product company, and I may work for a company that sells this product.
Why does Morgan keep blogging about products? Because “Inbound Marketing for ...”
https://lemonmama.com/wieldsilver/2021/blog/2021-01-01-2122-morgan-inbound-marketing-for-IBM.html

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-20 1339

I Like To Buy Stocks But I Hate Money

One day not too long ago, my friend (paraphrasing) said to me: 'I hate corporations and I hate money...' "...but I like Ben & Jerry’s company back in the day. Because they had salary caps and they are ethical.'

And this conversation had a big impact on me because I feel that.

What if I buy 40 companies and just can't keep track of them all?
What if my main goal buying companies is to make money?
Then is that ethical? Maybe it’s not.
It's like the idea: “ you just need to buy one good company “ (you just need to own one good company.) **

** The Charming but Dangerous Idea That I Only Need One Good Company To Get Rich https://wieldsilver.lemonmama.com/2022/2022-q2-blog.html

[And so, update in 2022, I did now since 'rebalance', down to 10 companies in my portfolio.]

On a similar note, if I recall Ben Graham said an investor by definition tries to get the most returns for their money. so if so then I'm in a sense no longer an investor by definition.
And common sense says better returns from a portfolio of more than 10 companies. So I may be treading a fine line on common sense vs. high-risk.

But back to my friend and our conversation that day.

I want to be able to say to someone like hey “hey you know I’m buying church and Dwight these days.
Oh yeah every two weeks from my paycheck I buy $25 of Church & Dwight stock.“
Note: doesn't matter which company stock. In fact sinc writing this I fell off of Church And Dwight. But some months back I had been liking them more.

And I think that if so, then this will be much more ethical and much more well received by my peers.
because if I start talking with my fears about how I like to buy “stocks“. Or I like how I like to buy “companies“. Then it sounds like I’m a bourgeoisie upper class arrogant doesn’t-work-for-money rich person.

Whereas if if I tell my peers, and truthfully, that hey these days I’m buying Church and Dwight company stock. (or whatever I am liking now). Then that would be generally better received by working class people because working class people are more likely to be loyal to one company.

In conclusion, these days my bag is more to be liking a smaller bag, a smaller number of companies, maybe 10 or so, knowing which companies I'm investing in, and less-so to be buying large bags of companies stocks. These are my opinions currently.

Final note: Especial thanks to my friend who that day straigh up told me they hate money and corporations. In fact some years back I also hated and resented money. And I know there will always be folks like this in the world at any given moment. So thank you for keeping it real. It is humbling.

wieldsilver.lemonmama.com statement - the author blogs about products where the author owns company shares.
Disclaimer: Before making an investments, you should do your own proper due diligence. Any material in this article should be considered general information or opinion, and not a formal investment recommendation.

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-20 1338

I’m Tiking This Think! Bar Nutrition Bar.

https://shop.thinkproducts.com/think-High-Protein-Bar-Creamy-Peanut-Butter/p/TKP-701202

https://www.target.com/p/think-high-protein-creamy-peanut-butter-bars-5ct-10-5oz/-/A-52107962

In conclusion, I’m liking this think! Bar nutrition bar.

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-19 1425

Lessons on Learning and on Selling and Confidence - From Rich Dad Radio Podcast Episode from April 2022

This blog post is straight up a positive review with some tidbits learned from this one podcast episode.
Because there were so many nuggets of learning in this podcast episode I will surely want to go back and listen to it again myself over and over again. And so wanted to blog it here for my future self and for anyone who comes across this. I recommend listening to this podcast episode:

the Rich Dad Radio Show episodes '#1 Skill of an Entrepreneur' Release date: April 13, 2022 Duration: 33min Guest(s): Blair Singer
https://www.richdad.com/podcasts/blair-singer-1

My notes as I listened to the podcast episode:

—- “#1 Skill of an Entrepreneur” with Blair Singer
—-that’s just around the 10 minute mark in Kiyosaki since he was 27 he was getting out of the Marine Corps and he was knocking on doors being a sales person formally for the first time. And he said he went and asked his rich dad hey how come I’m not doing well I’m knocking on maybe four doors per day maybe 10 doors per day and getting rejected. And his rich dad said well you’re not failing fast enough.
—-and then Kiyosaki says it’s not like academia. He says you need to fail fast and so you can learn. And the way you get better is you learn. That’s not like what happens in school in Academia
—-“The toughest sale of all is you selling you to you.”
(He means because after you get rejected 10 and 100 times then you still have to be able to sell yourself to yourself to keep going and keep failing and keep learning and keep selling and eventually keep succeeding but you need to sell yourself to yourself and have confidence in yourself.)
—-Kiyosaki said something very interesting he says repetition is important to learning. And he says you have to do something 63 times in order to learn it very well. He says 21×3 equal 63 he says he learned this in the Marines.
—-Kiyosaki says at the 25 minute mark or just before, that he learned at military school that great leaders “inspire up“.
and he says this means that they associate with people above them who are great leaders
As opposed to most middle managers in the world today who they are tyrants. … they don’t like it if you’re better than them so they push down on you….
(Morgan calls this “”command and control)(but sadly i see myself as this in this moment of clarity)
——— morgan’s note here is amazing. Thank you thank you this is brilliant. Morgan's note here is this is what I've been looking for, what I've been seeking. I have encountered academic environments 'pushing down' but hadn't heard much validation on that until now. And I was looking for a way to overcome or compensate for this. Which may be this here. I may want to use a style of 'pushing up' and helping those around me to succeed. And this may be a path for me to succeed as well going forward. Thank you to the podcast for sharing this paradigm and describing it this way!
—-continuing on Kiyosaki clarifies more and he says that ‘academic leadership pushes down, and military leadership pushes up’
—-The podcast guest host says “you actually excel as a leader if you can push other people up to become better than you.“
——— morgan’s note is yes. This. Yes. Inspiring.
—-near the end of the episode the guest Blair Singer says there are two rules for sales number one keep asking questions. Number two don’t give up.

In conclusion this podcast episode of Rich Dad Radio podcast in 2022 had great nuggets about learning, selling, confidence, leadership, pushing down, and pushing up!

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-19 1424

I’m liking this bag of Fritos, these Fritos brand original corn chips.
https://www.fritolay.com/products/fritos-original-corn-chips

In conclusion, I’m liking these Fritos corn chips.

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-19 1357

Podcast Summary on Handling FOMO and Don’t Buy Too Many Stocks

From this episode:
https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/04/investors-chime-in-on-the-motley-fool-approach

The podcast listener writes in saying they had FOMO bought too many small positions in too many companies for example maybe 100 companies.

So they want advice how to scale that back to fewer companies.

I Morgan at this point guessed they were going to advise the podcast listener to just hold those positions.

But then hat they actually say to the mailbag writer it is this:
- Small positions matter less anyways
- Which company is more important than the number of companies or positions.

So the hosts recommend that if the mailbag writer has many small companies with small positions and secondly for the those same companies the maibag writer person is not really interested in each of those companies anymore then, the question answers itself they should just go ahead and sell those companies and buy one company that they like instead.

But if they still like any/the company in question, then, they should simply hold that company. No matter whether a big or small position.

In short, buy & hold companies you still like, and sell companies you no longer like.

In conclusion this podcast episode it was advised how to handle FOMO and not buy too many different stocks.

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-19 1356

I’m Liking This Board Game CASHFLOW for Kids
https://store.richdad.com/products/cashflow-for-kids

In conclusion, I’m liking this CASHFLOW for Kids board game.

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-18 2140

5 Inspirational Videos from FranklinCovey Book That Also Stand On Their Own

I have been reading in the book "The 8th Habit" and therein are referenced companion videos.

And they so far have been very inspiring.

And the 5 that I saw so far, have been very inspiring. So much so they stand on their own even if anyone doesn't want to read the book then these videos are inspiring and worth watching.

And so here are the links to the 5x videos so far.

These 5x videos are public-facing published live to anyone who wants to view them on the franklincovey.com site as of 2022.

And they are cool inspirational videos. So I would like to share them out via my blog here as a post so folks can become aware of these videos.

And especially because these videos, I say, are like Anti-Hollywood. They are videos but they aren't selling consumerism. Excellent.

And anyone who is inspired by these videos I'd also recommend you to check out the book "The 8th Habit" too.

"The 8th habit : from effectiveness to greatness / Stephen R. Covey. Covey, Stephen R. BOOK | Free Press | c2004."
https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2269021?lang=eng

Videos links:

1.
Max & Max
https://resources.franklincovey.com/the-8th-habit/max-max

2.
Discovery of Character
https://resources.franklincovey.com/the-8th-habit/discovery-of-character

3.
Law of the Harvest
https://resources.franklincovey.com/the-8th-habit/law-of-the-harvest

4.
A.B. Combs Elementary
https://resources.franklincovey.com/the-8th-habit/ab-combs-elementary

5. Stone
https://resources.franklincovey.com/the-8th-habit/stone

In conclusion, these 5x videos from FranklinCovey The 8th Habit book are inspiring and not only go well with the book, but also stand well on their own as being generally inspiring in a non-Hollywood, positive, way.

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By author Morgan Jassen (lemonmama.com via mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-18 2139

I’m liking This Hotel That is Hilton Hotel Boston

I'm liking this:
Hilton Hotel Boston
"Hilton Boston Downtown/Faneuil Hall" (89 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, USA)
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/bosfdhf-hilton-boston-downtown-faneuil-hall/

In conclusion, I'm liking this hotel that is Hilton Hotel Boston.

Note: This blog post isn't a paid endorsement. There isn't any affiliation between this blog and the product company. This blog post isn't approved by the product company. I'm blogging it only because I personally like and approve this product. Also I may own stock shares in this product company, and/or I may work as an employee for a company that sells this product.
Why does Morgan keep blogging about products? Because “Inbound Marketing for ...”
https://lemonmama.com/wieldsilver/2021/blog/2021-01-01-2122-morgan-inbound-marketing-for-IBM.html

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By author Morgan Jassen (mjassen.github.io)

2022-09-14 1842

Playing the CASHFLOW for Kids Board Game Episode 1: It Reminds One to Keep Buying Cash-flowing Assets

I played the CASHFLOW for Kids Board Game, and the takeaway was it reminded me to keep buying assets.

https://store.richdad.com/products/cashflow-for-kids">https://store.richdad.com/products/cashflow-for-kids

Notes:

——— Number one is I need the green chips. I need the asset chips.
At one point I was stocking up money but I just wasn’t landing on the green asset spaces so I had no chance to buy the green assets.

——— Ultimately the only way you can win the game is to buy green assets.

——— The CASHFLOW for Kids Board Game really drives home the point that no matter what your cash nor your expenses or liabilities no matter any of those you really need to keep buying assets and looking for opportunities to buy assets and buying assets.

——— Number two is I noticed when stockpiled a lot of cash but didn’t have any opportunities to my assets right at that time I was then much more willing to pay a premium price to buy any asset that I could.

—————— At that point in the game I probably had $5000 cash.
And I was just hoping for any green asset opportunity for me to buy. And so then a $2500 asset opportunity came and I was thinking like “heck yes I’m going to buy this right now.“
In other words that was a very expensive asset but I was still willing to buy it at that point.

In conclusion I played the CASHFLOW for Kids Board Game and it reminded me to keep buying assets.

2022-09-17 update: updated format for move to https://github.com/mjassen/lemonmama.com/edit/main/moon.lemonmama.com/2022/2022-q3-blog.html

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-09-14 1842

I’m Liking These Blue Jeans From Cabela’s

I’m liking these Red head brand co “relaxed fit” SKU# 003032716 Blue jeans from Cabela’s

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/redhead-relaxed-fit-jeans-for-men-100954143

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-09-01 1552

Manager Paid Same as Team at 2x Basic Living Expenses Including Myself First

OK this shit‘s going into a blog post right now straight away.
OK the way to incentivize teams and how I want my team.
and how to incentivize a lead or manager and how I want myself to be at incentivized.
is you simply pay the manager or the lead the exact same as all the team members on their team.
and then the person who still wants to lead even though they are getting the same amount of pay, that’s going to be one indication of a good leader. Because they just want to see the team succeed. Regardless of whether or not they themselves are getting paid more than the team
Secondly, the pay must be at least enough to cover one's basic living expenses (so 1x basic living expenses) because that’s how much is the competition is paying as well.
however. Also. in order to get the best leaders, and the best team members, I think you’re gonna want to pay two times (2x) basic living expenses.

So in summary, these are the main two points of today's this here blog post:

1.)
Number one to find and get an excellent leader, pay them the same amount as everyone else on their team, and see that they stick it out.

2.)
Number two sure you pay that leader (and therefore by extension everyone on their team per number one above) 2x basic living expenses. (at least 1x)

That’s it!

this piggybacks directly off of the Moon.lemonmama.com inaugural post in which I posit the same thing. I posit that people should be paid two times basic living expenses.

This goes back to 'The Goal and Mission of moon.lemonmama.com: Episode 2 ... “How can (work income) become equal to (basic living expenses times two)?“ ...'
https://moon.lemonmama.com/2022/2022-q3-blog.html#2022-08-09_1316

So what I’m adding on here this time is that bit about how much a leader should be paid, and the fact that an excellent leader will be fueled by being paid the same as their team, they won’t be necessarily fueled anymore by being paid more than their team, rather perhaps the contrary.

paying the team lead more than the team members may introduce conflict of interest.

And the final thought here. That’s actually what made me think of this idea.

And that is a challenge to myself: I’m going to try to get into a manager or leader supervisor role, and but in order to accept the position formally, I will ask that my company pays me and my team all the same salary.

That’s the challenge to myself. I’m going to try to do that. and it’s going to drive me cause I’m driven by fairness especially fairness of salary. And so I want to put my money where my mouth is and I wanna be the leader, and I wanna be the type of leader who insists on getting paid the same as their team members.

As for leadership, one thing i think a leader is, one who assists who they are leading.

So if I am a manager or supervisor or lead of a team, then the team is who's actually doing the work, and I'm who's assisting the team.
Some would call it servant leadership.

But I personally say this goes hand in hand with everyone being payed equally. This is my big beef with how 90% of contemporary American companies do things. Why pay managers more than workers?

That’s some hippie dippy shit there, that's some lovey dovey shit, and that’s my type of thing. That’s my bag.

Ship it, blog it.

In summary, how about paying the manager the same as the team? And how about paying folks at a rate of 2x basic living expenses? And how about me being who enforces this paradigm by my own actions?

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-09-01 1551

I’m Liking This Book The Anarchy

I’m liking The Anarchy (book) By William Dalrymple
https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S75C7591148

In conclusion, I'm liking this book The Anarchy.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-28 0812

Favorite Character Names for Stories

Here are some of my top personal favorite character names, strong names for character names for blog posts stories, including for obfuscating character names in stories and for using in fictional stories.

And so putting them here to have close at hand, to source from them in my future blog post articles and stories.

Note these names themselves don't represent real characters and are meant here as purely random, strong, character names:

1 Racer
2 Rebel
3 Bellatrix
4 Pilot
5 Lynx
6 Jupiter
7 Justice
8 Hawk
9 Mufasa
10 Elvis
11 Electra
12 Jagger
13 Diesel
14 Alaska
15 Bandit
16 Rowdy

In conclusion, these are some of my favorite strong character names.

See also: "Favorite Hobby Names for Stories" https://lemonmama.com/moon/2022/2022-q4-blog.html#2022-12-21_2209-hobby-names-fictional-stories

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-28 0811

I’m Liking this Movie Avengers Endgame

“Avengers: Endgame” movie (2019)
https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/marvel-studios-avengers-endgame/aRbVJUb2h2Rf

In conclusion, I'm liking this movie Avengers Endgame.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-26 1607

Five Years Later Again Reviewing The Sherwin-Williams Dries Blog Post

OK this is gonna be a cool blog post.

Below I review the 5-year-old blog post, 5 years later, in 20 points.

I don't know why, but maybe because it's a persona, Dries, who I don't know personally, but whose name is recognizable from open source web development ecosystems, who I don't know to be a professional investor nor a professional financial advisor, and yet I came across their post about 5 years ago where they jumped right in and were attempting doing, nay, doing, hard-core technical analysis on a company in order to decide whether to buy that stock or not. And I loved it and still do. I feel like the persona of Dries was just a regular individual investor just like I aspired to be. And doing their own diligence and researching and blogging about it and that inspired me that I could do the same.

"I got into the paint business"
https://dri.es/i-got-into-the-paint-business

In short, I read the post about 5 years ago and blogged a short blog post about it.

"Review of a Blog Article Describing One Way to Analyze and Invest in a Particular Capital Stock"
https://investorworker.lemonmama.com/2017/2017-01-23-analyze-capital-stock-paint.html

And guess what, at the time, I hardly understood any of the technical terms or stock analysis 'lingo' therein.

However, since then, I did bunches of listening to investing podcasts, and bought one share of a couple of different companies myself to practice, and looked on the public library's free Morningstar stock metrics database at various companies data, and now 5 years later I'm going baack and reading this again and see what I think of it now today in 2022.

Here we go! I feel like it’s gonna be a epic and I think it’s gonna close the Learning loop a lot for me.

Ok now I am re-reading the blog post.
Here are some of my notes as I re-review this blog post:

1.)
I understand the terms much better and the author the Persona of Dries ("P.D." hereafter), he's talking about stuff that's now more familiar to me.

2.)
I see the graph P.D. compares SHW to SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust).
** This is at least the second time recenly I heard someone refer to SPY ("Spider").
** I like it. Because my benchmark for the past few years has been VOO not SPY. But now I learn I think they're essentially the same thing. So now I have another alternative.

3.)
P.D. wrote that he bought "half a position". Huh. _Goes and looks up what is "a position"._ I had thought any number of shares could constitute "a position". Then later in the same post P.D. mentions under what condition P.D. would consider buying more into a 'full position'. Hmm, not sure, I guess I still have to learn what "a position" is here, what is it?

4.)
P.D. wrote that, at the time, P.D. watched and waited 9 months to get into SHW. Morgan's note is: interesting because fool.com RBI podcast persona of David Garder has drilled it into my head 'dips wait for dips' and to always be dollar-cost-averaging, always be buying a small amount every two weeks if you can regularly ongoing. And but I'm not saying anyone is a dip here, quite the contrary. But I love to see why someone would wait 9 months to buy a position and I love learning about this from this blog post.

5.)
Next I review to, and past, the part of P.D.'s blog post where it's mentioned: "...— the P/E of 21 remains relatively high." ]

6.)
P.D. said P∕E ratio of 21 is high. I admit I don't know quite what is the relevance of P/E ratio for valuing a stock.
So I check https://wieldsilver.lemonmama.com/2021/blog/2021-04-10-0749-morgan-what-judge-value-company.html which is still a bit inconclusive. And then I earmark my blog drafts to start a new episodic series on what is P/E Ratio. I need to do further learning on this.

7.)
Next P.D. writes that P.D. checks the past returns, for 10 years.
** P.D. writes how P.D. sees that earnings, revenues, and profits affected the returns in past.
*** I am glad that within the past 5 years, I independently learned a bit about "Earnings" and "Earnings Per Share", and, learned one place where I can look up this data for free. For example I learned that a company's "Earnings" folks call the same as "Net Income" interchangably in many cases. And these metrics I can see on the "IDR" report when I use my massachusetts public library account, free of charge sponsored by the library, to log into the Morningstar stocks database provided by my town's public library.

Screenshot 1 showing after I log into the public library morningstar database, where to click to see the Morningstar IDR report in PDF format:
https://moon.lemonmama.com/2022/uploads/2022-08-26-public-library-morningstar-see-IDR-data.png

Screenshot 2 on the resulting IDR report (PDF file). Example. After you clicked the "IDR" button from screenshot 1 above. Then where to see the Earnings (net income) and Earnings Per Share, for SHW for 2021:
https://moon.lemonmama.com/2022/uploads/2022-08-26-library-morningstar-income-EPS.png

** Also P.D. comments here regarding cash flow, share buy back (aka 'share count reduction'), and earnings per share.

8.)
P.D. comments on dividend and dividend yield and total return and notes a projected total annual return of 12.2% which P.D. said would be great.

9.)
P.D. comments on the P/E expansion and analyzes how the P/E rose from 14 to 21 over the years.

10.)
Morgan's note, my note here, is I do understand the terms dividend and dividend yield. Also these are available online for example at the public library morningstar database, or else using iPhone Stocks app, or else visiting New York Stock Exchange website link https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:SHW

11.)
Next under subheading 'Modeling future returns' in the blog post, P.D. analyzed future prospects for Sherwin Williams company. Nice.

12.)
P.D. re-analyzes many of the same metrics already considered above, this time in the light of future.

13.)
P.D. speculates a pessimistic scenario next first, then a more optimistic scenario. Nice. I guess I'm a bit lazy to do this myself normally I feel like it's hopeless or reckless to speculate too far into the future. However point taken that doing such an exercise could be valuable.
As I believe Dwight Eisenhower once said 'plans aren't always needed, but planning is indespensable...' (or something like that). So using imagination to envision what might be realistically possible certainly can be invaluable.

14.)
P.D. mentions one reason to buy Sherwin williams could be for its long term prospects "... think in terms of decades...". In other words not speculating the company and stock will have huge short term growth but rather good long term prospects.

15.)
P.D. comments on the company having been a "...well-run company..." and comments on it's historical dividend increase and its dividend payout ratio, all as positive signs.

16.)
My, Morgan's, note here is that nice. Also I heard all the time on fool.com Motley Fool ecosystem, that one should think for the long term and invest for the long term. Like decades. And look for a well-run company with good management. From my general readings of Warren Buffett in recent years, I do also believe Buffett also touts the importance of good management. So I do generally agree.

17.)
Also P.D. compares Sherwin Williams performance to S&P 500 performance.

18.)
Morgan's note is, nice, I agree good to compare against a benchmark for some solid perspective.

19.)
Morgan's note here also. In the body of the blog post P.D. mostly doesn't refer to the company/stock as SHW. Just at the beginning and the end the blog post mentions the ticker SHW. My comment is nice, it gives the feeling P.D. is thinking of this as a real company run by real people, not just a ticker symbol only. And yet at the same time obviously P.D. is very discerning of the technical metrics as well (that is the point of the post). So that's good.

20.)
In the final paragraph P.D. is speculating very far into the future, on various metrics. For example P.D. projects the dividend and dividend yield to 30 years in the future. The former projected as '$132 per share...' and I chuckle to myself. Because that sounds like ridiculously high dividend per share. But then I check myself because actually that may not be wrong. Because I recalculate and think, that of course that is relative to the cost basis. And so yeah, if the dividend keeps growing steadily and the stock splits then the dividend number compared to whatever the current shares and price is may show as lower in future. However compared to the 30-year-old cost basis for someone who bought into it 30 years prior, calculated out then it may actually be able to grow to that large a number, it's not impossible and may be a realistic calculation. Inspiring.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this analysis post from 5 years ago from the persona of Dries. Thanks to them for that. And, now 5 years later after having done my own research, it does make more sense to me. However I think this blog post by P.D. was a great analysis and I'm so glad they wrote and published it, and that I re-read and re-reviewed this post now about 5 years later after my initial review of it from 2017-01-23.
This time around, for me personally, since I have done more reading and learning about stocks, companies, business, etc over the last 5 years, it made much more sense to me! I actually understood most of the terms at least nominally. Some I was still less familiar with. For example P/E I still want to learn more about, and may post a new series soon as I learn about that.

Final note:
And the author did mention, and I agree, that this (their post nor mine) doesn't constitute investment advice, and everyone needs to do their own analysis before they make any investing decisions themselves.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-26 1606

I’m Liking this Kinder Joy Egg

Ferrero Kinder Joy Eggs
https://www.cvs.com/shop/ferrero-kinder-joy-eggs-3-ct-prodid-2250328

In conclusion, I'm liking this Kinder Joy Egg.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-23 1258

Ten Companies I’m liking in August 2022， And also Where To Research Companies

Here are ten companies I'm liking in August 2022， and also some ideas how and where to research companies:

Ten companies I'm liking:

BJ BJ's Wholesale Club (Bob Eddy CEO in 2022)
TJX TJX Companies Inc (Ernie Herrman CEO in 2022)
CVS CVS Health (Karen S. Lynch CEO in 2022)
SAM Boston Beer Company (David A. Burwick CEO in 2022)
MSFT Microsoft (Satya Nadella CEO in 2022)
I̶B̶M̶ ̶I̶n̶t̶e̶r̶n̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶B̶u̶s̶i̶n̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶M̶a̶c̶h̶i̶n̶e̶s̶ ̶(̶A̶r̶v̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶K̶r̶i̶s̶h̶n̶a̶ ̶C̶E̶O̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶2̶0̶2̶2̶)̶
V Visa Inc (Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. CEO in 2022)
AMZN Amazon (Andy Jassy CEO in 2022)
TMUS T-Mobile (Mike Sievert CEO in 2022)
PEP PepsiCo (Ramon Laguarta CEO in 2022)
DKS Dick's Sporting Goods (Lauren Hobart CEO in 2022)

Where or how to research companies:
- LinkedIn, including posts of the company's employees on LinkedIn
- The company's job postings (on the company website or on jobs sites)
- The company's website and company social media pages
- The company's careers website if it has one.
- The company's annual "10-K report" official report
- Worcester Business Journal https://www.wbjournal.com/ or bizjournals.com
- google search
- Meetup.com
- podcasts
- Motley Fool https://www.fool.com/
- morningstar (including metrics or written reviews)
- visiting physical/retail location or taking a guided tour of the company (if possible)
- asking an employee who works there (if you know someone)
- attend an in-person event or conference and network with a person from the company there
- Friends and family, if they are game.
- Neighbors, or people in local community groups, or anyone in one's social circles, if they're open to chatting with one about it.
- Rumors and small children. (ok ok, this one maybe not so much. ...But then again it depends, because if kids know something then they may tell it like it is.)

- Sign up for career alerts emails from the company. Some companies in 2022 have this for example IBM, Marriott, Dick's Sporting Goods.

In conclusion, this blog post covered ten companies I'm liking in August 2022， and also some ideas how and where To research companies.

2022 Updates: Added another research bullet point. Updated Companies list.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-23 1257

I’m Liking this Soundtrack of Into The Woods

Into the Woods (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
https://movies.disney.com/into-the-woods

In conclusion, I'm liking this Soundtrack of Into The Woods.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-16 0754

I Can’t Wait for Others to Give me Kudos But I Can Go Out and Give Others Kudos Whenever It’s Appropriate

This blog post is about giving kudos where kudos are due, professional references, the golden rule, faith, graciousness, generosity, guilt, courage, diligence, selfishness, and professional networking.

Once upon a time in the last decade or two, when I noticed my colleague did a good job, I wrote them a quick message saying kudos to them and then saying what I saw they did and saying why I thought that was good.

Then I pasted a note of this in a file I call my "reverse brag book".

Ok, so why the reverse brag book?

It came up organically. I was bursting with the desire to have the reverse of that. I wanted others to tell me when I did a good job. Which it seemed like I wasn't getting.

The months an years were going by, and I was hustling working hard, and I wasn't getting fired, but I felt like I was invisible. It was hard to tell how my performance was.

I couldn't bear it and so I had to do something.

After thinking it out a bit I decided the closest I could come is to reverse that and start taking some more consideration and time and effort to see how my colleagues were doing and to tell them when they did a good job.

So this was built of selfish motivations. Right? Maybe. But maybe not all of it. Keep reading.

So, why the reverse brag book?

It's because the golden rule. Treat others how you want to be treated.
Because community.
At work around this time, I was wishing I had my own learning loop closure to I see how my sales conversations ended up.
And I felt that other colleagues around me did too.
I was feeling like my current job and role and company really needed more of this.
So I took a bit of extra time to look up old customer email threads to see how they ended up after I had left the thread.
And I found actually in quite a few cases, after I left the thread, one of my colleagues stepped up and did a stellar job of helping the customer.

And so I can't wait for others to give me kudos.
But I can go out and give others kudos whenever it's appropriate.

That's the end of the story.

That's the end of the story, but here is some of the psychology behind the story which is more subtle, and yet so simple and timeless.

The psychology is that, maybe its selfish.
But why I don't think so, is that the reason why I'm recording these 'reverse brag book' entries in my reverse brag book, is because at some later date I think I'll want to probably ask for a professional reference. and so at that time these are the same folks who I'd want to reach out to at that future time.
Because they'll know that I'm a professional who notices others' work and so maybe they'd be gracious to return the favor one day. And why I don't think this is selfish is that this is how references work.¹²
And I'm not, and won't be, asking for handouts. But rather these are the only colleagues I have. And so sometime the day will come for me to ask for references, and these are the only people who I'll have then. And it's not like I'm singling people out nor trying to leverage anybody.
And I'm not giving kudos where kudos aren't due either. I'm just trying to give pats on the backs to my colleagues, ongoing indefinitely, where pats on the back are deserved.
I am trying to be holistic and build good relationships and build community here.

This is an odd blog post. It needs refining but the ideas are so powerful.

Further on this, is that this is hard.
Even now some time later, I still have trouble pulling out my so-called reverse brag book and calling on the people for references. I haven't done so yet, not in the literal sense. It feels weird or calculating. However I'm thinking it shouldn't. Because of the human reasons written here in this blog post.
Also even further, I fell off the wagon and for many months at a time stopped giving kudos to my colleagues and for many months stopped adding any entries to my reverse brag book.
In the end, now, it only probably grew to less than a dozen entries per year. It's again because of some kind of guilt I'm feeling for not wanting to target nor manipulate folks on any level, not even to give them kudos, not even with any expecation that they'd repay the favor some day (but just faith that among some of them, some gracious one would via the grace of human nature and the golden rule.)

Finally, these general, and overlapping, ideas also resurfaced in the book "Never Eat Alone" (by Keith Ferrazzi). So that validates these. But one key here is to do this genuine and out of a place of generosity and not forced nor contrived.
What I'm learning here is that in this specific case, the guilt _isn't_ justified.
In other words, when it truly is appropriate, then it is fine to ask others for favors and for references. In fact, when it is truly appropriate, then it isn't an option to not ask others for favors and for references. Unless maybe I want to end up living under a bridge somewhere begging for food. I should need to cultivate my own humility, be considerate and generouos to others, and be gracious to ask for professional references from others and graciously accept bestowal of professional references from others as appropriate when possible and if and when deserved.

In conclusion, this blog post is about giving kudos where kudos are due, professional references, the golden rule, faith, graciousness, generosity, guilt, courage, diligence, selfishness, and professional networking.

¹ "For a Software Support Engineer a Note on the Relevance of Professional References" https://investorworker.lemonmama.com/2014/2014-11-17-relevance-of-professional-references.html

² "For a Web Developer the Importance of an Abundance Mindset to Professional References" https://investorworker.lemonmama.com/2016/2016-11-18-abundance-mindset-professional-references.html

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-16 0753

I’m Liking These Chicken Bouillon Cubes

I'm liking these chicken bouillon cubes.

"HERB-OX Chicken Bouillon Cubes"
https://www.hormel.com/Brands/HORMEL-Herb-Ox/Bouillon-Cubes/Chicken-Cubes

In conclusion, I'm liking these chicken bouillon cubes.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-12 2246

This Podcast Episode was Especially About Professional Networking and Especially Fresh and Good

This podcast episode was especially about NETWORKING and especially fresh and good.

Example using your intuition as a simple quick non-egotistical tool.
Example networking with people in the peanut butter aisle of the grocery store.

Journey to Launch podcast - Episode 276- Networking As A Way Of Life, Making A “You Turn” In Your Career With Ashley Stahl
https://journeytolaunch.com/episode276/

Note: I cross-posted same on LinkedIn last month (July 2022) here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6950133714307727361

In conclusion, this podcast episode was especially about professional networking, and was especially fresh and good.

[2022-09-23 update: Note I did go back and listen to this podcast episode a second time later. And it was worth it. This episode is fire.]

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-12 2245

I’m Liking This Nike Hoodie Sweatshirt

I'm liking this Nike hoodie sweatshirt.

"Nike Sportswear Club Fleece - Men's Graphic Pullover Hoodie"
https://www.nike.com/t/sportswear-club-fleece-mens-graphic-pullover-hoodie-R9w74B

In conclusion, I'm liking this Nike hoodie sweatshirt.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-12 2143

The Word “Realized Income” Means Similar to “Living Expenses”

I saw this term “realized income” defined, and used, in "The Millionaire Next Door"* (book)

* https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2878110

Somewhere between chapters 2 and 4, the book starts talking about something called “realized income.” And that’s a new term to me.

Come to find what they mean is the portion of one's income that one lives off of.

So I can give an example.
Say someone has ₷¤365 silver bams of income but lives off of ₷¤241 of that, and then that (₷¤241) is the realized income.
In this example maybe the other ₷¤124 is used for something else, maybe it’s saved for a rainy day, or given to charity, or I'm imagining it given as a gift to a family member, or reinvested to buy some asset or whatever. So in any case the ₷¤124 portion of the income in this example is not” realized income”.

But back to what the book is saying, it is saying that many millionaires are frugal, and their realized income is relatively low, and their realized income is significantly less than their total income in many cases. Or at least their realized income may be far less than the realized income of some more spentthrift people who have high salaries and spend a lot.

My further comment on this is it seems "realized income" may be another word for what I would have called "yearly living expenses".
So the perceived difference may be that when one calls it "realized income" it gives it a feel like connecting the income to the expenses, or earmarking income to be used as expenses.
In other words calling it "realized income" gives it a feel like it was planned in advance or a feel like in hindsight it fit into a plan or a budget.

But it is refreshing because I admit I didn't have a word for this idea before reading it here.
Maybe because I had been calling it "yearly living expenses" until now.
Sometimes its good to have more than one word for a concept. Like a synonym.
However that is kind of a loaded term because for many paycheck-to-paycheck working class folks, as I've blogged before*, it may be common for yearly income to equal yearly expenses, serially, ongoing. (because that's often working class mindset)

* https://investorworker.lemonmama.com/2018/2018-12-13-middle-class-income-expenses.html

But this is refreshing because it seems like an acconting mindset. The "realized income" is its own portion of one's income. It may or may not be equal to one's yearly expenses in any given year. Nice.

In conclusion, the word “realized income” means similar to “living expenses”.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-12 2142

I’m Liking This 2020 Toyota Corolla LE

I’m liking this 2020 Toyota Corolla LE

https://pressroom.toyota.com/vehicle/2020-toyota-corolla/

In conclusion, I’m liking this 2020 Toyota Corolla LE.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-12 2113

A Thing about Job Interview Screenings

A thing, maybe the main thing, about job interview screenings, is that you have to learn the rules from someone else, then apply the rules during the screening.

That's it.

In other words there's a fairly arbitrary set of customs that constitute the job interview and resume process.

Including personality questions, soft questions.

And actually, I dare say it is 100% impossible to react to these series of questions in the expected way in most cases.

And so for 99% of people we need to study the rules from some friends, or from a book, ahead of time.

Like "Knock 'em Dead" career coaching book, or other.

Then before and during and after the job screening interview we follow the rules.

At no point before during nor after does the interviewer disclose what the rules are.

In other words your and my first project at any standard company is an arbitrary project, not to do with the subsequent work of whatever job you or I is applying for.

It is to learn, and execute, the customs and rules and mannerisms of someone who has generically prepared themselves for a traditional job interview process.

This has been hard for me personally in past.

I wrote on this before, peripherally, in the context of Professional References:
"For a Software Support Engineer a Note on the Relevance of Professional References" https://lemonmama.com/investorworker/2014/2014-11-17-relevance-of-professional-references.html

I have a pet peeve for doing a test for which the tester doesn't speak freely about nor reveal the rules ahead of time, and also for which the tester doesn't transparently give feedback afterwards.

There are exceptions of course, but these are the rules.

That is the point of it.

Said differently, a main part of the test is:

“Do you have people?”

Can you generally learn and prepare and execute for a project that involves being asked a set of traditional questions?

Can you independently find, and follow, a series of checkboxes?

Amazing.

In other words, it (the traditional job interview screening process) is arbitrary, cloudy and immensely frustrating and intanginble, and it is impossible if you don't have help and go through it a few times and understand it and practice it.

However if you do get help and go through it and understand it and practice it ahead of time, then it is actually quite static and learnable and knowable and doable. Not only that once you understand and prepare, then, it actually could be called trivial, easy, laughable, and trite.

However that one degree of separation, that crucial fact that the interviewer never reveals that it is a test nor what are the rules of the test nor feedback on how you did on the test. That one aspect of the screening, can seem immensely huge and invisible and frustrating if its not kept in mind throughout.

In conclusion, a thing, the thing, about job interview screenings, is that you have to learn the rules from someone else ahead of time, then apply the rules during the screening.

[2023 edit: fixed broken link.]

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-12 2112

I’m Liking These Genuine Dickies Mens Flex Duck Dungaree Jeans

I’m liking these genuine Dickies mens flex duck dungaree jeans.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Genuine-Dickies-Mens-Flex-Duck-Dungaree-Jean/549222813

In conclusion, I’m liking these genuine Dickies mens flex duck dungaree jeans.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-09 1320

The Goal and Mission of moon.lemonmama.com: Episode 4

The goal and mission of moon.lemonmama.com: Episode 4.

This post is mostly about making sure we have enough time to enjoy life, for example starting off working 50 hours a week but moving towards working 25 hours a week.

Actually so I was considering about the paradigm where everyone earns 2x basic living expenses. (Which in turn for many folks in 2022 is 2x minimum wage.)
And their (basic living expenses) are equal to (1/2 of their income).

And I thought is that ethical? Because just if every single person had that much then wouldn’t there be a 2x glut of money and so now everyone has an excess of money and maybe everyone stops working?
Or else everyone just works half the hours, or, else everyone just works half-assed for that time?

More on this below.

In short no, taking the abundant view that money is never created nor destroyed but rather money just keeps changing hands and getting recycled, and also that humans performing laborsome work is the main source of value-creation for earthlings. Then even that money income beyond that spent on basic living expenses, would eventually be spent too, for example on life-enriching things such as:
vacation with loved ones, retirement costs, college education, going out to eat with friends, etc.
And also demand for goods and services, whether basic-needs or life-enriching, will create supply. And humans are flexible for quantity and quality from both ends as well, and also more value can always be created by more earthlings performing more laborsome work. Including by myself going and performing more laborsome work.

So anyway evolving the thought further. If one did get to the point where one had more than enough income money (we'll say 2x basic living expenses income), then what most folks would probably want to do is go get themselves more free time.
Get time freedom.
Time freedom, to be able to spend time on friends, family, and self.

Maybe even before then. Maybe once some folks get to 1x basic living expenses then they want to then maintain that while maxxing out their free time at that point.

In other words, perhaps most folks at a laborsome, burnout-inducing job, only want to work (25 hours per week) instead of (50 hours a week).
Work at a laborsome job (4 hours a day) instead of (8 hours a day).

Side note: Another factor, for moon.lemonmama.com, separate but affecting all this, is that I want to have enough food in my pantry to last me for three years forward. And the same for every earthling if they want it for themeselves. Rather not scrambling buying food each day at the last minute. This is related to savings as opposed to income. But not only saving money in one's accounts(assets), but also saving food in one's pantry too.

And so I need basic living expenses food and clothing and housing and pay for car repairs.
So I need 1x money income to pay for those.
And I want life-enriching goods and services in my life, which costs money.
And so I want 2x money income to pay for those.
And, or, I want to only spend 1/2 of my time to maintain that.

Put differently, maybe some folks don't want working 50 hours per week to get 2x basic living expenses. (₷¤730 per year).
Maybe some folks would rather work 25 hours a weeek to get 1x basic living expenses. (₷¤365 per year)
Because maybe for most folks their time is what grants them quality of life.
For these folks maybe they have a way to attain these enviable situations:
• zero-cost social events with loved ones
• $0 vacations (don't know how; but maybe you work part of the vacation to pay the cost of the vacation. or maybe you travel for work and your company allows you to take an extra week at the remote location, etc. Or. Getting really creative here. The Vacation is sponsoredy by philanthropists who both pay for, and staff, the cruise ship or airline. Or just by a rich uncle or rich auntie.)
• zero-additional-cost education and learning (learning via reading library books, and via attending barcamp-style conferences, and learning by participating in open source projects and volunteer projects)
• ₷¤0 eating out with friends (eating meals at home with friends)
• zero-cost retirement
• zero-cost rejuvenation and recreation
• zero-cost acts of philanthropy donating to charity, etc. (for example donate work or time or effort to a charitable cause, instead of donating money)

This all is at the junction of where income meets expenses. Where quality-of-life meets frugality. Where time meets money. This is the crossroads where we'll spend time on moon.lemonmama.com blog. We'll put some lawn chairs with our friends at this intersection, and watch the traffic go by. I'll be sitting on a bench of this street corner, watching as folks navigate life and money. I'll drive out onto these streets and through this intersection myself too. Sometimes's there'll be a car accident. Which will incur more car repair costs, at which point I may cry again and need to work for 6 weeks more to pay for those repairs again.*) Sometimes the traffic will flow smoothly. Sometimes there'll be a near-accident. Then I'll sit on the bench again and watch some more. Then I'll go back out into the streets again myself.

* See "The goal and mission of moon.lemonmama.com: Episode 1."

In conclusion, this post, Episode 4, was mostly about making sure to have enough time to enjoy life, for example starting off working 50 hours a week but moving towards working 25 hours a week.
Life will go on. Money will flow on. Moon.lemonmama.com will blog on.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-09 1319

I’m Liking the Movie Thor

I’m liking the movie Thor.

“Thor” (movie)(2011)

https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/thor/1p4vdKzTuhzr

In conclusion, I’m liking the movie Thor.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-09 1318

The Goal and Mission of moon.lemonmama.com: Episode 3

Part three in the series of what is the goal of the moon.lemonmama.com blog.

Put concisely, here is one thing, that I am looking for.

I’m looking for a person (mentor) and a paradigm that can be summed up in three (and a half) bullet points as follows:

1.• Number one I’m looking for a person (mentor) who is earning (2x basic-living-expenses).

2.• Number two I am looking for that same person to also be living a lifestyle where their basic living expenses are 1/2 of their earnings.
(In other words they are frugal enough so that their basic living expenses is 1/2 of their salary/wages/income.)

3.• Number three, I’m looking for the same person to also be willing to coach me on a 10 year plan of how I can also steer in my life and finances and career to be that same way.(same numbers/proportions)

3½.• Number three-and-a-half. I'm looking for a person who works as few as 20 hours per week. (To start, maybe as many as 25,40, or 50 hours. Then ramp down to 20 hours.)

That's it, those are the three (and a half) bullet points.
This idea is core to moon.lemonmama.com.
And it makes sense right? Wouldn’t we all want this?
I would want to earn income that is 2x my base expenses, so that I could spend the first half on my base living expenses, and spend the second half of that income on fulfilling things like:
vacation, retirement, college tuition, inviting friends out to eat, and donating to charity, etc. etc.
I hope everyone on earth gets to enjoy these things in their lives as these make our lives better and fuller.
But what I’m doing here is I have concisely stated this in three quantitative bullet points above.
And so now I know what kind of mentor person who I’m looking for, and what paradigm I’m looking for.
And so this is me really putting some hard numbers on what I’m trying to accomplish here.

Breaking it down further, let's say ₷¤365 silver bams* per year is how much money an earthling spends on basic living expenses each year. And for many folks living paycheck-to-paycheck that is also equal to their work income too. And this person doesn't have money to spend on education, donating charity to their community, their own retirement, vacations, celebrating a holiday party, etc.

* Silver bams (₷¤). See: (2022-01-01 2305) "Earthling Yearly Income...Dollars Per Year ₷¤365 Silver Bams Per Year for 2022" https://lemonmama.com/wieldsilver/2022/2022-q1-blog.html#2022-01-01_2305_silver_bams

We'll say that ₷¤365 is just enough to cover an earthling's basic yearly expenses food, housing, utilities, transportation, car repairs, clothing, etc.
And so in order to be able to afford some quality of life things like education, charity, friends, community, retirement, etc., then 2x that is the multiple or factor of that, and is what I am aiming for.
₷¤730 per year.

Because that second multiple I am gonna want to spend on stuff to enrich my life like:
• social events with loved ones, • vacations with loved ones, • eating out with friends, • subsidizing retirement, • rejuvenation and recreation, • acts of philanthropy donating to charity, etc.

And finally, 10 years is the acceptable plan of a timeframe for me to try to ramp up to that goal.
And finally-finally, 20 hours per week is the goal ideally of how much time spent per week to produce this. (as many as 50 hours per week then ramping down to 20). (See upcoming Episode 4 for more about the value of time in the context of life+money.)

Note that I come from the context of a hard line ethical and hard-working and self-sufficient character, which dictates how much to work. I believe firmly that folks should contribute to society through work, as able. And so working 50 hours per week is enviable and in my eyes comes with a certain high status and pride. However at the same time I'm maintaining a fondness for quality-of-life and self-care and ethics-towards-self, which dictates that if one is doing an extremely strenuous burnout-inducing role then they may be ethically obligated, including to themselves, to only perform that role for 20 hours per week and allow themselves to rest for the rest of the week (or do another job for the rest of the working hours of the week). Furthermore I do also believe that by sharing labor, working together, working smart, and working hard, it is possible for all earthlings to produce more than enough goods and services for us all, while each person still only works 20 hours per week. This is my personal belief.

So I’m putting numbers to it to try to really make a solid goal here and a solid plan here for moon.lemonmama.com blog goal and mission and vision.
And then I’ll also plan to blog it out as I go to share as I go and learn.
It may be part philosophy, part storytelling, part documentary, part opinion.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-09 1317

I’m Liking This Toothpaste

I’m liking this toothpaste.

“Aim Anticavity Fluoride Gel Toothpaste 5.5 oz ultra mint gel”
https://www.walmart.com/ip/AIM-Cavity-Protection-Toothpaste-Ultra-Mint-Gel-5-5-oz/135816811

In conclusion, I'm liking this toothpaste.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-09 1316

The Goal and Mission of moon.lemonmama.com: Episode 2

“How can (work income) become equal to (basic living expenses times two)?“

Part two in the series of what is the goal of the moon.lemonmama.com blog.
The question above gets right to the point and starts with the end in mind. I'm looking for the answer to the question.
This is core to the project, for maybe the next year or two and what will be the focus of moon.lemonmama.com.

Some folks say that just struggling to break even, means there's an income problem or a spending problem, or both.
Because it’s the accounting equation.
And so the solution is to first find whether the problem is income or expenses.
And the solution would be either to lower expenses, or to increase income.
And so these are the primary ways where how to get some breathing room.

Contrast this with this equation, which is less ideal*:
“Work income, equal to basic living expenses, is OK“

* Depending on the cost of quality-of-life things. (See upcoming Episode 4 for more about the value of time in the context of life+money.)

If we use this less ideal equation, we likely won't have money in our life to spend for good quality-of-life things like:
education, community, friends, family, philanthropy, vacation, retirement.

So moon.lemonmama.com starts suggesting a solution may be to really be hungry and grind it out and make it so that basic living expenses really truly are staying steady at about 1/2 of income.

Said differently, How about really grinding it out and staying hungry and staying focused, ongoing over the next couple years, so that income remains steady at about (2x) of basic daily living expenses?

And that’s it.

And talking about this with trusted peers.
Because, it’s 2022 and food and housing shelter and technology, and car repairs, exist on earth in abundance.
As earthlings, our transportation and societies are advanced.
There is room, and there are channels, for each earthling to migrate to where living resources are abundant.
Moon.lemonmama.com mindset, initially, is that an earthling today should maintain income to become be 2x their basic living expenses, and an earthling should maintain their basic living expenses as 1/2 of their income.

And yeah, it's gonna be scary seeing stuff and discovering stuff.
Maybe discovering overspending habits.
Maybe discovering being underpaid.
Maybe discovering laziness in money habits.
Maybe discovering lazy self-management habits.

That's the whole point of this.
That'll be the goal and mission of moon.lemonmama.com.
Uncovering and really understanding income versus expenses in very great detail.
And find out to what extent is there an income problem?
Or to what extent is there an expenses problem?
Or a humility or entitlement or laziness problem?

And so that’s just initially going to be the goal of moon.lemonmama.com
It’s gonna be about working and living and saving and frugal-ing.
Now it’s time to really dig deeper into lifestyle, and get conscientious and get aware of earnings and aware of spending.
And maybe a good way to do that is to empower and to aim for that benchmark, that is a two-times factor.

At the same time keep it fun and eccentric and move between high-level low-level angles, and at the same time asking trusted peers to collaborate on this.

In conclusion, let's start to answer the question: “How can (work income) become equal to (basic living expenses times two)?“ It's time now to learn and to find out. And just blog about it. Here on the blog moon.lemonmama.com.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-09 1315

I’m Liking These T-Shirts

I’m liking these t-shirts.

"Fruit of the Loom Men's 12pk Crew Neck Short Sleeve T-Shirt - White"
https://www.target.com/p/fruit-of-the-loom-men-s-12pk-crew-neck-short-sleeve-t-shirt-white/-/A-82074538

In conclusion, I'm liking these t-shirts.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-09 1314

The Goal and Mission of moon.lemonmama.com: Episode 1

Our story starts with Morgan breaking down and crying, over car repair costs.

Morgan feels bitter and broken, and bursts into tears, realizing that today's auto maintenance bill is costing 6 weeks of work income.
About the same cost as his summer vacation plans.

This is the story of moon.lemonmama.com, and it starts to tell the goal and mission of this blog.

How from here?

Morgan pays for the repairs. For now maybe the vacation will have to wait. Or maybe he will think of another way.
At this point, Morgan navigates as close as possible to a hard line ethical and hard-working and self-sufficient character, which dictates how to afford the car repairs directly, for example forego the car repairs (so incur no payment) in the short term, or else pay for the car repairs directly with savings in the short term. (as opposed to borrowing money or asking money from a friend or family)

But regarding using the vacation money. That's not a long term solution. Because for Morgan, vacations are a top measure of culture and identity, stability, and happiness in his life*. He has burning emotional attachment to vacations, for reasons that for Morgan, vacations are intertwined with principled values of:
learning, community, pleasure, self, family, and friends.

* "Interest Pays for Vacations with Friends..." https://wieldsilver.lemonmama.com/2020/blog/2019-11-29-morgan-interest-pays-vacations-first.html

For some folks maybe they value taking school classes, or else playing on a sports team, or else partaking in one hobby or another, or enjoying some other regular pastime, or anything else, which fulfills these same values for them. But for Morgan, it's vacationing. It is a highly valued personal mission of his life that he will take one or more vacation per year to enrich his life with these values.

Morgan thinks:
"So but then, how to do both? How to pay for the car repairs and also pay for this year's vacation plans?"
"...I need to ask for help. I need to get help with this."

One way where from here, is to ask fellow earthlings, for help and advice.
Even despite the feeling of money taboo*, ask trusted friends help to navigate through.

* "If We Talk About Money" https://wieldsilver.lemonmama.com/2021/2021-q3-blog.html#2021-08-06_talk_about_money

Morgan pulls himself together and thinks:
"I thought I was hard-working and smart and responsible and ethical."
"Where has it landed me?"
"It's landed me in the automotive service department."
"Bitter."
"Feels like choosing between car repairs, or that vacation we were planning."
"Like choosing between car repairs, or kids college."
"And it’s not why I’m here on this earth."
"My goal in life isn't only working laboriously for money, without quality of life."

Morgan did pause at this point and consider, maybe getting a job in car repair industry, or, considered how to transition his life to include more auto repair as a hobby or pastime together with friends and family. Mabye instead of vacationing or in addition. As that could start to solve two problems at once. Besides, Morgan liked the people at the car repair shop, as well as liked car repair in general. It's only the dollar cost of the repairs causing the despairs here, and the time spent laboring earning money to pay for that. However, after a bit Morgan shelved that idea for the time being.

Morgan pondered further and became more bitter, thinking about spending six weeks of life, getting burned out at a minimum wage job, doing laborsome tasks, and not spending time with family, and not being able to go on a vacation.

Morgan with furrowing brow and a cloudy mind, tried to think.
Morgan relaxed tense body and breathed in and out, and spend some time and some hours meditating on this situation.
Morgan calmly thought and took deep breaths.

Maybe ring the doorbell of a few trusted friends.
Call up a few trusted friends.
Look for a mentor person.
Look for someone to teach so how to learn to not end up in this position again.

Morgan thought:

"Good idea, but which of my friends even seems to have their life and career and finances together?"
"Because if they're gonna teach me then they would need to be someone who themself already practices this."
"Which of my friends seems frugal, but at the same time seems to have enough money to cover their expenses too?"
"And of those people, who will also be willing to teach me as an apprentice as well?"
"Once I find a few people who are money-smart, then who among them will be willing to coach me, like on a 10-year plan how to shape up my finances and my life?"
"And when I find a person who fits this, and who is willing to coach me, then, will I be humble and disciplined enough, and grateful and mature enough, will I be able to accept this sort of coaching to steer my own habits that way over time?"

Morgan again became uncomfortable, thinking how to find which friend fit this description. Morgan thought:

"Is this an ethical approach even, to judge and target a friend in this way to ask for a kind of 'money-mentor'?"
"I think so, as long as taken care and done with transparency, and everyone agrees it is about learning and is a long-term approach."
"If so then which friend can I ask to teach me about money for the long term?"
"And then if so then how to approach my friend, how to start to ask, and how to ask, my Money-smart friend for help how to steer myself in the direction of money-smartness?"

In short, the story ends here for now, but the journey doesn't end here as you can see. But in this here story, the character Morgan realizes they need Money-smarts and they need help from a friend mentor.

So in addition to being smart and responsible and hard-working and ethical, Morgan additionally needs to navigate Money-smartness, and humility, at the same time.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-08-03 2139

Inaugural post for moon.lemonmama.com

Blog.

Lifestyle stuff.

Working, investing, life.

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By author Morgan Jassen on moon.lemonmama.com

2022-13-32 0000

“Title - Blog Post Template”

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