Tag jobs

One of the most common questions we get is about financing our travels. We left Shanghai, our apartment there and our jobs in May of 2009. It is now July, 2010 and we’ve traveled for over a year. It is a fair and understandable question when people ask if we are secret millionaires or if we recently inherited some money. The answer to both of those questions is a firm, “no.” How we make our money is simple.

Website funds:
We make some money on our website, but to be honest we spend a lot of time and money on the site so we do only slightly better than break even on that. Some costs associated with the website include: the hosting fee ($250 for two years, roughly) our pro flickr account ($25 a year) and the amount of man hours put into developing and maintaining the site and the blog. We make money on the site by selling some ad space on the blog, which is unobtrusive and we are very particular about who we will allow to advertise on our site. We turn down some offers for cash in exchange for links simply because the products would not match our reader’s interests or have anything to do with traveling or quitting one’s job.

Income:
Lauren makes money as a writer. She has a few solid contracts that help her make enough money to travel full time as well as cover her college loan payments each month. Meanwhile, Mike was able to save more than half of his earned income in 2008, meaning he is living off his savings. Considering we both made less than $30,000 in 2008, it is possible to travel for cheap on savings if you don’t spend money on frivolous things, or live above one’s means.

Lifestyle:
One of the main ways we save money is to live well below your means. We do this by living overseas, where we don’t have cell phone costs, or outrageous cable and internet fees. We don’t have an overpriced apartment, car payments or insurance fees due each month. Essentially, the money we spend each month living abroad is the total of our food, transportation costs and apartment. We live like the locals do (lower-middle class locals) and save a bundle by avoiding expat eateries and entertainment. For a month in Shanghai we were spending a total of around $350 each, counting everything from random purchases to rent to food costs. If you make $20-25,000 a year and only spend $350 of that each month, you are looking at quite a savings over time.

Traveling versus Staying Home:
Meanwhile, traveling full time is cheap because your only costs are lodging, food and transportation. Often, people spend most of their travel money on lodging, we avoid this by camping whenever possible or staying at hostels for less than $15 a night. In Asia, we spent around $6 a night and that often included dinner. We spend, on average, around $6-700 a month traveling full time abroad. These costs are higher than would be necessary if one traveled more slowly. However, most of these funds went to train and bus tickets. When we were moving slowly we spent roughly $500 a month. For most Americans, that is far less than they spend a month living in an apartment or home with a dozen or so monthly costs.

You can’t consider yourself a long-term thinker if you shop at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or any other major chain in the United States. Here is why: they outsource. Simply put, we get products for cheaper but in the end more folks here will be unemployed which will result in fewer purchases long term. Folks at these major corporations have to realize they are simply sucking as many greenbacks as possible out of the economy while it lasts. An entire economy based on service industries is hardly a stable one, but that is where we seem to be heading.

So, why do I take it out on Wal-Mart? Honestly, it isn’t really fair. Wal-Mart is just a prime example because they sell the largest range of crappy products on the market, stretching from crappy sewing machines to crappy electronics to crappy plastic toys to crappy, low-quality clothing. This isn’t much different from most other major corporations, but this one is more prevalent. Its like blaming McDonald’s for all fast-food woes.

Yesterday I was looking at a piece of antique furniture. Unless doused in gasoline or saturated in water, this thing will be around long after I am. Something about that is much more comforting than looking at the $20 Ikea equivalent. Our culture demands things for cheaper and cheaper, and when a deal is good we’ll buy the product even if we’re fully aware it is sup par. We seem more than happy to accept that an item has a shelf-life. I’d much prefer to buy something once and have it for life. My life, not the life span attributed to it because it will whither away on its own accord over time.

I remember the day I returned to the USA having spent several years in Germany as a child. We got away from the airport in our rental car and I asked my dad why all the houses were made out of cardboard. An astute observation for a child, I have to say. It turns out it isn’t cardboard, but 2×4 pine boards with a bit of drywall and nails. The shelf life of a home in the USA is under 50 years, and this seems downright sad. Mike and I recently worked with Habitat for Humanity down in Texas and were shocked at the minimal amount that actually goes into making a house. Once you see the process from A to Z you start to wonder how the thing lasts even 50 years. Meanwhile, in Germany homes are built to last several generations. They can spend the additional money to make it correctly and make it sturdy because no one family is supporting the entire weight of the bill. If America were to start to make better homes, it would have to change the underlying cultural trends wherein children leave the nest and move to an entirely new area.

This reminds me of a story my grandfather told me when I was younger. He said the US government brought in some German road engineers to teach them how to build long-lasting roads. The Germans dig way into the earth and layer with straw, sand, tar, cement, straw and much more over and over again for around 2 meters. When they finally slap on the last coat they have a product that can withstand extreme weight, weather and use. The Americans were impressed and started to mimic the German road-building method. Suddenly, construction was halted as a politician pointed out that all the road workers would eventually work themselves out of a job with these long-lasting roads. I don’t doubt the story is true, but I do doubt that we would work ourselves out of road jobs by making them right the first time.

I recently read that there are two types of belief systems- utilitarianism and deontology. The former type believes in the greatest good for the greatest number of people while the latter believes in personal rights, regardless of the outcome. Americans seem to be distinctly deontologists, and are concerned about the jobs of the workers over the long-term happiness and convenience of millions of Americans who would enjoy driving to work without dodging orange cones. I think this is interesting because I’d much prefer the roads to be done right, to the highest possible quality at a higher price tag now, and then save money and time down the road (ha ha, my first pun) on repairs. I also suggest this project as a sort of CCC type deal for our current unemployment solution.

I digressed from my anti Wal-Mart point, but the ideology underlining it is the same. I think long term we need to pay more for high-quality, lasting products from small businesses instead of buying the cheaper version that will wither away and need to be replaced. In short, I think the greatest good for the largest group of people in America would mean more jobs here, more high-quality, lasting products here, and building a country we’d be proud to show our grandkids, instead of delivering them one in need of massive repairs.

I don’t mean to launch into a diatribe, but its my blog and I feel like ranting about the so-called ‘disaster in the gulf.’

1. This is a product of drilling for oil. If we’re going to insist on using the combustion engine, we have to realize the consumers are as much at fault here as BP. If we were not buying up oil like it was gold, then they wouldn’t push themselves to drill it out of the ocean with such urgency that it causes them to be rushed and thus a bit haphazard.

2. Can people please stop blaming BP like they are shocked that a company would put the environment or human beings in danger in return for profit? Lets not be naive. The company is not Tony Hayward, who is also not a super villain who is secretly delighted by the spill. The company is the stock holders, who will do anything (including spend their fortune on an ad campaign mid-crisis) to keep the shares from losing value. There is nobody who deserves to have his or her ass kicked more than the stock holders, good luck Mr. President, in finding them all and kicking them a good one.

3. I’m tired of seeing oil-saturated birds and wetlands. We take a very large, very toxic dump on the environment on a daily basis all across the planet, this really isn’t any different. People are not willing to move past the combustion engine (see point #1) so they can’t blame anyone for oil-soaked birds but themselves. Put down your remote, pick up a pen and write your state representative to support mass transportation and clean, renewable energy. Otherwise don’t criticize BP for pouring oil down fish throats. Also, don’t call anyone who wants to progress past outdated technology a hippie. I doubt Ben Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, or Eli Whitney would enjoy that type of labeling, and I don’t feel like I have dreadlocks forming simply because I think wind energy is more intelligent than digging for dead dino bones to light on fire.

4. If Americans want more jobs (and I think they should be actively demanding them) then they need to force their representatives to enact laws that ban or prohibit outsourcing. We have high unemployment at home while our electronics, automotives and chemicals are produces abroad. Being the jobs home, put people to work, and get more funding for our science programs so we don’t loose our innovative edge. Also, give grants for clean or renewable energy research and reward people who provide solutions instead of point out problems.

5. I’m supremely pissed that the real bill for this crisis is going to come out of our pockets. The reserves of oil under the sea in the gulf belong to our country, yet a British BP comes in and sucks it out, slaps a sticker on it and sells it back to us for a profit. Once this all blows over, you can expect gas prices to one day go up enough for BP to recoup its losses in the gulf. After all, the Exxon Valdez crisis was a disaster that is quite aptly comparable, and yet Exxon today is the largest company in the world. Anyone who doesn’t think this bill is landing on them isn’t look at the larger picture- which is to say, that we’re essentially going to pay BP for this misstep.

6. I’d like to suggest someone slap the media quite hard for their constant nagging. When did the media in the USA become as lame as the politicians? These folks are supposed to be reporters, which means they should be doing a bit of research from time to time. Instead, we have poor Admiral Thad Allen up there making statements and these talking heads (the reporters) are fixated on all the wrong aspects of this seemingly never-ending story. The media has made this oil spill the only thing happening in the world. I want to hear about the news. This is not new, this is over 50 days old. And the media seems more than happy to keep a constant ticker on how much they harp on one story instead of report on what is actually happening now in the world. It makes me feel like the media is intentionally focusing on this to avoid having to do any real work. Meanwhile, we have real issues going on around the world that Americans should be aware of, and all they know about it how the media is trying to portray everyone as incompetent. The only really incompetent ones are the folks at CNN, Fox and every other major network that has long since stopped being respectable.

7. Finally, and this is a positive point for a change, I’d like to point out how awesome I think Thad Allen is. This military man, the ‘incident commander’ is a straight-shooting guy that really doesn’t’ bullshit his way through a press conference or dodge answers. If he were to run for office tomorrow I’d click ‘yes’ simply because he isn’t a politician. Reporters ask him questions and he gives an answer. Meanwhile, at a press conference yesterday, the White House spokesperson standing behind Than Allen interrupted several of his straight-forward answers to back peddle, blame shift, and generally make himself look like a lawyer/villain from a Tim Allen movie. I’m so outraged by the type of person who goes into politics (in both/all parties) that it is actually a real shock to see someone answer a questions bluntly. Way to go, Thad, and keep up the straight shooting. Also, you just might be the military’s best spokesman at present.

That is all I have to say about the disaster in the gulf….for now.

Chinese and American Flags

Many folks in very important acronym-named think tanks spend their days thinking about the China versus America issue. I wish they would contact me; I could solve their dilemmas for them with relative ease since I’ve lived in both countries and am an avid complainer and comparison maker. This is an impressive title, but way too long for a business card which is why you’ve probably never heard of me in this capacity.

Let’s discuss employment on the China versus America issue, since that is a hot topic in both countries at present. China is an amazing place to live as an expat, and that is the side of China I have known over the past few years. Naturally I’m living in the upper middle class by Chinese standards while I’m there, so for the vast majority of Chinese, my opinions may seem elitist and literally ass backwards. I’m okay with that since I’ve given this disclaimer. I easily found work in China, decently paying, legal and taxed work as an editor at a bank complete with benefits, a swivel chair and a key card that beeped when you held it near the door.

I’ve lived in America as a child, and as a college student, but have spent less than a year as a gainfully employed American. This is partially because I have never been able to find work in the USA. I worked a few odd jobs in college and found a ridiculous post-grad school job that made me want to razor burn my eyeballs, but aside form that all I do is collect polite rejection letters. In the words of the late Kurt Vonnegut, “So it goes…” Yet the economy in the US is dropping like gravity has a hold of it while the situation in China is, in relative terms, defying gravity. Employing myself in any major city in China would be as easy as showing up with some resumes, a nice suit and the ability to speak my native tongue without drooling on myself.

Let’s tackle one additional hot topic in the China versus America issue – health care. In China I got pneumonia and spent $13 USD on a doctor’s visit, X-ray, analysis, blood work, analysis again, examination, more analysis and then medication. That’s $13 total to cure me of pneumonia and over two hours of office face time with doctors and lab folks. And by the way, I got all of my results within that two hours, including blood work and x-ray sheets. With surprising irony, I also got pneumonia in America a few years ago. The doctor met with me for five seconds, said I sounded funny when she put a stethoscope against my back and then wrote a prescription on a sticky pad. Comparatively, the later experience was like getting a medical check from a caveman.  The cost for my America visit nearly gave me an aneurysm (which, by the way, I could never afford in the USA)! Most intelligent folks will be saying, and yes I can hear you yelling through the world wide web’s invisible tubes, that China’s costs are lower due to the sheer volume of people paying for these goods and services. That’s true! I’m not here to argue, I’m just here to say that if I ever get sick again I’ll be standing in line in a Chinese hospital more confident and happy than if I was anywhere in the USA where doctors just prescribe you a drug and then slam the door in your face. I have no opinion on the health care debate now stalled in the US government except to say that I would hope we could come up with something better than bankrupting people for antiquated care and over-drugging them so they don’t care.

That’s all for this addition of China versus America. Tune in next time to hear my thoughts on freedom of press and gender equality. Fun, fun, fun!