My Thoughts on Income Taxes

Mark and I are always a little flummoxed by all the complaining about income taxes.  You see we have a solution to this problem.  Our solution allowed us to pay no income taxes whatsoever for 10 years - completely legally.  What is this amazing plan you might ask?  Well, just have more dependents than you have income and voila - no taxes.

I won't say it's an easy way out of taxes, but it is effective and, I might add, a very fulfilling life.  So it'll save you from seeking meaning in life - not enough time and your meaning is living under your roof.  You won't have nearly as much time to complain about how much you have to pay in taxes or wonder why you should have to pay your hard earned money in taxes.  Just work really really hard, make a modest income and support too many people with said modest income.

I'm pretty sure a financial advisor wouldn't recommend it as a great investment, but I'm pretty confident Jesus would.   Works for us.

Happiness is...........

According to a new study people who make $75,000 per year are the happiest - less then that and they're more unhappy and more doesn't make you happier.  To that I say - wowser - that's a lot of dough.  We are in the process of raising 11 kids and somehow we've managed to be pretty happy I think with considerably less.  I certainly understand that at a certain point when you don't have to worry about paying your bills or if you can provide for the necessities of life including health care, but every thing after that is really gravy isn't it
  I learned early on in parenting from a friend not to take kids shopping unless necessary.  Her philosophy was it just creates discontent about what they have when they discover what they don't have.  How true that is for all of us, especially those of us who live in overindulgent suburbia.  I had to remind my kids often that - no - we are not poor.  We just happen to live amongst people that contrasted to the rest of the world are completely rich.  In fact, contrasted to the rest of the world - we - are really rich.

 How very skewed our perspective can get.  This is why traveling is so very important.  When you are exposed to how the rest of the world lives it is easier to keep things in perspective.  Now, maybe if we did fall into that $75,000 income range we could do more of that traveling - maybe that would make me happier - most likely I'll never know.