Estate Planning Matters

What Do a DVD Player, A Blacksmith and a Pay Phone Have in Common?

Years ago, I went to my local consumer electronics retailer to purchase a new personal computer that had new technology that I'd heard was so fantastic that I had to have one to see for myself what all the hoopla was about.  It introduced something called Microsoft Windows (remember when you had to log out of word processing to get to Lotus?).

Then, something called a DVD player was introduced, and I went to the same place to get one to replace my VCR player.  Along came the laptop; the Palm Pilot, the IPOD and so on.  I always went to the same place because I enjoyed the shopping experience and the people were educated on how to help me get what I wanted and needed. 

Yesterday, I was saddened to learn that, instead of the bankruptcy reorganization I'd previously thought was going to happen, Circuit City is going through liquidation and will be closing their doors.  Forever. 

I understand that many businesses come and go and that "only the strong survive," but it was still a little unsettling to learn about this development in Circuit City's business plan. 

I guess I have to acknowledge that the reason I visited so often is that I was going in to purchase a new item to replace an obsolete one.  So, from that standpoint, Circuit City has fallen prey, in a way, to the same process that kept me going in to their store all these years.

Think of all the industries that disappeared with technological advancement:  Shortly before the turn of the last century, no one could have imagined that becoming a blacksmith would ever go away as a career option.  More recently, I was traveling and drove in to a rest stop.  Standing to the side of the welcome center, I saw a lone, ragged pay phone.  Funny how it looked out of place.

I'd love to hear your thoughts when reading this.  What industries, products, etc. can you think of that have gone/are going away?  But be sure to put the reason they are disappearing.  I'll bet almost everything you can think of is because there has been a better one that has been introduced.

Anyway, today, I am writing this to say goodbye to an old "friend," while holding on to the idea that, if we stay focused on our financial plan, don't react out of fear or panic, and remain positive, we'll be MUCH better off than those who do not.  I've said it before, so I'll say it again:  Responding to the economic conditions out of fear can actually cause it to worsen. 

Of course, in this article, I don't mean to imply that Consumer Electronics are going to be obsolete.  I'm talking about the process that forces the "less strong" out of the market where the strong does survive.

And, next year, we'll have said so long to many other industries and markets that no longer have a target.  It's all part of the dance of progress. 

Love,

Gerry

Never Say No To A Good Time

Have you had a chance to see the movie, "Yes Man?"  It stars Jim Carey, and he plays a negative man who attends a meeting where he is challenged to say yes to everything.  He is inspired to try this tactic for one year.  It is a comedy, of course, and he finds that sometimes saying yes to everything can cause more problems than being negative.  But it is a feel-good movie with a great ending where he finally finds he's overcome his negativity.

 I did go see this movie.  And, frankly, it inspired ME!   Now, I don't consider myself a negative person, but it occurred to me that saying yes to more opportunities - instead of my usual "No" reaction to something outside my "comfort zone" - can only benefit me.

So, when my daughters asked if we could go to the Rose Bowl, I had the thought and my lips were poised for saying "No," but to my shock, I said, "Yes."  We hadn't confirmed other plans that day, so instead of taking it back, I thought, "What the heck!  Might be a lot of fun."

Oh, poor naive me!

I ordered the tickets online thinking we'd have plenty of time to get them in the mail.  Wrong.  So, on 12/31, I called Ticketmaster and was told that the tickets had been cancelled.  I said, "Why did you cancel them?!!!"  The rep said, "Well, you just said you hadn't gotten them, and they are for tomorrow."  Egad! I finally got it worked out that I could pick them up at Will Call at the game.

Still confident that we could have a great day, we left to go to the parade before the game.  We paid $25 for parking, and as we were walking away from our car, the lot attendant said, "You realize that you're six miles from the parade... right?"  Ok, so after trying to get a better parking spot (streets closed, lots full), I found one.  Trust me.  It was a nightmare.  But I'm still in a good mood...

The parade was great!  Ok, so far (ahem!), so good.

Then, off to the game.  I quickly realized that Will Call was not going to work, and just at that moment, a guy came up and asked me if we had tickets to sell.  I said no, we needed 3 tickets.  Like a magician, he pulled the "rabbit" out of his hat and said, "You want good seats or better seats?"  I said I wanted better.  He said they were $150 each; after realizing I was telling the truth that I only had $350 in my wallet, I got the tickets.

So, off we went.  We waited in line to be able to get through the tunnel to our section, walked in, and were blinded by the sunlight on all the white Penn State jerseys surrounding us in the bleachers.  Our newly purchased USC jerseys didn't stick out at all!  Not!

We finally found our seats and only then realized that the man who'd sold us the tickets had sold us 2 tickets in this section and 1 ticket two tunnels down.  So, we traveled over to that section to see if we could find empty seats to sit all together.  We did.  Ah!  Things were looking up... until the owners of those seats showed up.  We tried a second time.  We got to spend a total of about 15 minutes sitting together. 

We headed back to where we had 2 seats together and my daugher, Hailey, sat in my lap for most of the game. 

Does this sound awful?  I am telling you exactly what happened that day, but I'd made up my mind that we were going to have fun, and that's exactly what we did.  We overcame every obstacle - and basically pulled it off - and the day was a success.  I am really glad we did that, even with all the problems.  I think there might have been a time when I would have not had such an attitude.  But once you get the hang of it, it becomes a lot easier to only look at the positive side of stuff.  Certainly made it a lot more pleasant day than it could have been!

Hope your New Year is off to a fabulous start!

Love,

Gerry