cc: file, Diane Cluff, Darrell and Nancy Krueger, Sara and Des Penny, Grandma Hafen via Tony Hafen, and Lloyd and Luana Warner.
"The Russian Ruble is loosing three `0's' in value, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle. This devaluation means that whereas last week when Paul had 1,000,000 Rubles (i.e. he was a millionaire), next week he will only have 1,000 Rubles (i.e. he is poor). In the 1920's there was inflation both in Germany (and here in the states) which resulted in the same kind of money devaluation Russia has gone through since the fall of the Iron Curtian and the breakup of the Warsaw Pact. I remember hearing folks in Cedar who had served missions in Germany talk about how people went to the bank with a wheelbarrow.
As we start a new year, and particularly since I find my personal (and business) finances going a little more in the hole each month, it seems appropriate to talk about money in this Thoughtlet. To put my situation somewhat into perspective relative to your rent, food, and schooling bills, consider: I now have a house payment of $1,314 (I haven't had a house payment for the last 7+ years), yard work of $100 (no kids to help), pool maintenance of $140 (again no kids keeping up), a car note of $314, electrical bills of $378 (average billing year round), and child support of $1,500 each month. Needless to say, this starts to add up to real money after a few months of not having enough consulting jobs. In fact, it is over 70% of what I have been taking as income, which does not leave enough for the paper, repairs, maintenance, insurance (health, life, property, and car), phone, cable, gas, water, groceries, books, gifts, ententertainment, Christmas gifts, fast offerings, and tithing. So what am I to do?
Typically there are two choices people consider: (1) work harder and/or smarter; or (2) cut back on expenses.
My approach has always been to work harder. When your Mom and I got married, we were dedicated to following the advice of the Prophet. We wanted to start our family. We believed children would be the one lasting joy in our lives and that to not take on the responsibility was selfish. I still believe this. We didn't have insurance, and after interviews and accepting a job at Mobil we realized we would not have insurance if we got pregnant before I started work. We also figured the offer was so much more than we had with student scholarships it would all work out. So Roice was conceived in our basement apartment overlooking the Salt Lake Valley. When we got to Dallas, started paying apartment rent, and all of the other expenses associated with starting a family, it was obvious there was not going to be enough money to go around. Even with the large salary at Mobil (and the three raises before reporting to work). So I went to work part-time as a butcher for Karl Kuby, one of the members of the Dallas 1st Ward. I would work at Mobil during the day and spend my evenings and Saturdays hanging up and cleaning large `Texas Jackrabbits' (they called them deer, and there was never one that came in I couldn't pick up and hang up alone).
Over your lifetimes, I have always strived to go the extra mile to insure security for my family. It was really touching to get a letter from Roice in Singapore and have him write:
In 1992, when I did not watch `lack of sales closings' and `too high of expenses' at HyperMedia Corporation closely enough, I found myself in a much deeper hole than in Dallas in 1974. I had guaranteed a $500,000 loan to run HyperMedia (against 25,000 shares of Landmark Graphics Stock founder's stock).
The stock had been valued at about $24 per share, then there was a market devaluation to $8 per share. For those who do not want to do the math, this meant the bank was holding a $500,000 note with $200,000 worth of collateral. Banks do not work this way. We did not have $300,000 to make up the difference. It was a much harder time than now. In fact, one of the options my financial and legal advisors suggested was bankrupcy. As you know, we didn't take that route. I just worked harder. We never really cut back on the amount of money available to keep a growing and rambunctious family. I just dug in and worked through it all (with help from Joe Rouse, John Amason, Larry Law, Charlie Rego, Scott Bowman, Sherry Sump, Rhonda Hartmann, John Mouton, Alex Massad, and many others).
Now I face a similar issue, although proportionally smaller than either Dallas or HyperMedia. Whenever I get thinking about money, I always go back to my favorite scripture on the topic, Jacob 2:17-18 in the Book of Mormon, where it says:
There are two excellent books on this subject which I hope you will all someday choose to read. The first is `Approaching Zion' by Hugh Nibley, and the second is `Working Toward Zion' by James W. Lucas and Warner P. Woodworth. These books help build a picture of the social and economic side of my dreams named Walden 3-D. As you each grow older it is nice to be able to talk about these wild-eyed fantasies, which I never expect to see implemented while I am alive. In Roice's wonderful letter from Singapore he wrote:
When I called my Mom tonight she asked if I had heard of the Cybercity being built in Malysia. She says they are building tunnels under the city and running wires to all of the houses and all of the stores. Then she said: `Total control!' I guess it was a news report on television. It was sad to have her comparing my dreams to exactly the opposite of the freedom and independence and security I anticipate new design concepts will provide.
As I look out over the next few years, and especially the visualization / information handling projects I am working on now, I see opportunities to help a lot of people. Sure there is the opportunity to make a lot of money, to not have to worry about monthly bills exceeding income, to pay back all of the HyperMedia investors, and to put some money away again for a rainy day. However, the real opportunity, and what excites and motivates me, is the opportunity to create jobs, to better distribute clothes and food, to teach the guilty and show justification for releasing the innocent, and to get medicines and knowledge to those in need and dispair. I realize I am still an idealist. My beliefs start with my commitment to my Savior and to his restored gospel. I still believe finanical stability starts and continues by paying tithing and church offerings first. I believe money is simply a tool. A tool to be used with wisdom. Not something to become a slave to.
As I look out over the next few decades, I am certain you kids will experience a major devaluation of the currency of The United States of America. As much as I love America and as much as I believe in capitalism, I recognize the way our financial systems works is just the other side of the same coin our society has villainized for decades as communism or facism. Imagine when $1,000 dollars you have saved up at $10 per hour (which translates into over two weeks of work), becomes worth $1. Imagine when a house you paid $150,000 for becomes worth $150. Think about how you can invest your money now, so $100 is still worth $80 when there is a major devaluation here in the good old U.S.A. Then do it. Invest in education, in heavy metals, in certain types of property, in clothes, in food storage, in shelter, etc. Recognize the inherent instability of established institutions to a sudden devaluation."