Follow The Money

In this collapsing, faltering economy people are not spending money on "wants" like TVs, movies, videogames, cars, expensive furniture and houses like they used to.

People are spending their money (from working multiple low-income jobs to pay the rent or mortgage) on water, food, clothing and shelter.


Life today is all about SURVIVAL and if you are a particularly crafty entrepreneur you will put your time and effort on products and services that will fulfill people's daily living needs.

The resourceful entrepreneur may create some kind of local farming enterprise, water/heat energy fue generator service, home/shelter builder, well/water purification system, off-grid homesteading enterpriser, convenient all-natural healthcare services (for those with the credentials). Mortuary, burial and/or cremation service for people to be buried or "properly" put off somewhere in the proper, courteous social graces of Western Society's civilization.


Thought Note: There are 7 billion+ people on earth. If every one of them; most or many of them gave you a dollar you'd be one of the wealthiest people on earth...

How Your Blog Can SURVIVE

Carry around a small, portable paper notebook and a pen (or pencil though preferably a pen to avoid "smeared" pencil lead words on the paper pages...) and write down everything and anything (Christ-honoring) you think of in your personal random thoughts and ideas throughout the day to use for developing the content of your blog.

It does not matter if all your written-down thoughts are completely random and unorganized at first because when you make some spare time you can organize main ideas as blog post titles and then type out relevant, related sentences in the appropiate draft blog posts.

Just keep WRITING down ANYTHING you think of naturally and then do the organizing, re-writing and editting later.

When you start blogging only write when you feel you are inspired by God. Not because you feel like you “have to”.

Write meaningful, useful posts.

Nowadays everybody and they "momma" (yes, literally) is an “author of a blog or several”.

When it comes to “writing” to me there is no “write (i.e. “right”) way” of writing, lol.

I just write with a pen the words that come out of my mouth and mind that the Lord inspires me with and work from there… naturally…

Do NOT force yourself to write; let the pen do the work. You just sort out the words later  but don’t worry about “grammar”, correct “punctuation” or any of that stuff.

Writing is an art craft. You could create your own “language” if you wanted too (but only do what GOD WANTS YOU TO).

Not that proper writing skills is not important because proper writing skills IS IMPORTANT; it’s just that one could think of writing a blog as a “work of art”.

It may or may not be a masterpiece but it may be a free-forming work of art or any outlet of creative expression.

You just write as you feel the want, need or desire and the words come to life.

This... as this post serves... is a way for your blog to... SURVIVE.

Happy writings my friend(s)! :)

A "Real Life" Education

Learn practical, useful, tips, advice and strategies derived from personal experiecne for solving everday living life problems, conflicts, obstacles and challenges that show up in your life.

The solutions range from short-term "quick fixes", medium-range and long-term development strategies for creating and building a meaningful life lead in God's Will.
   

Simplify Your Life: The Power and FREEDOM You Gain From Living A Modest Life

When you simplify your life to having only your basic living necessities: water, food, clothing/shelter; you are more "mentally-free" from materialism and developing your lifestyle.


Create and Build Your Life will deal extensively with the subject of simple (Christian) living.

God does not want us to live any "higher life" than we have to in earthly mammon and riches; though He expects us to live humbly in contentment with having what we NEED.
 

Create & Build Your Life Tip: Dirt, Sand and Soil

Take a bucket with you to your local parks or beaches to dig and gather up dirt, sand or soil in your bucket to take for personal use at home.

Dirt and soil piles dug up by moles on the surface of the ground can be scooped up by a small hand shovel and poured into a planting soil/dirt bucket.

You can use all those fertile, fresh, dirt/sand piles moles dig up (repeatedly throughout) in your yard/field for your own personal gardening projects for the soil/dirt of your plants.

The rest of the dirt/soil that is left can be saved in buckets or sand bags to use for later when planting plants in the ground.

The remaining dirt/soil mound left on the ground from the moles can be stomped on and spreaded apart to flatten and fertilize the ground.

Create & Build Your Life Tip: Wood and Sticks

Gather together pieces of wood or sticks at your local recreational parks or beaches to use for firewood "tender" to help get your small fire burning.

Personal Observation: The Consumer Marketing Strategy of Lay’s Potato Chips Brand®™ From a Customer’s Perspective

I chose a bag of Lay’s Cheddar Sour Cream Potato Chips and Lay’s Hickory Smoke Barbecue Chips and first noticed the bright, crisp, detailed pop-up images of the chip’s crunchy texture and shape that caught my eyes’ attention.

 

The aluminum plastic packaging itself did not get my attention but the neat, clear and bright (i.e. “good-looking”) display of the potato ships bag product caught my attention. I then proceeded to open the bag of potato chips encountering a “top-off” of air filled in the top of the bat that was there as a strategy to sell less of the potato chips about a little over half the bag instead of filling up close to the end of the bag with more potato chips to avoid  selling more product that would be included for the sales price.

The crisp, fresh and savory aroma of fried potato chips oozing from the aluminum bag followed in sync together with the look of the crisp, crunchy texture of the potato chips felt sliding on my fingers and hands made my mouth water and mentally “hungry to eat” even if I did not really feel like eating at the moment and was full from earlier.

The addictive fried, oily, salty, somewhat savory flavorful taste of each flavor of Lay’s Potato Chips was “catchy” to my taste buds and the feelings of my mouth as I crunched and felt the savory taste in the texture of the potato chips before swallowing them in instant self-gratification of the “pleasurable taste and filling” of eating the potato chips…

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Let’s review.

What consumer marketing strategy tactics were most effective in persuading this consumer to eat Lays Potato Chip Brand®™?

1. Sight – the eye-catching bright “blowed-up, professional-looking” image design on the bags showcasing the bright, colorful texture of the potato chips caught this consumer’s mouth-watering hungry interest and attention.
2. Aroma – the pleasant savory aroma smell of the potato chips’ flavor caught his nose’s attention. (Endnote: Now eyes and nose are paying attention in agreement to the self-satisfying delicious product.)
3. Selectivity – this consumer had options to choose from various kinds of Lay’s Potato Chip products; from texture (e.g. “regular, wavy or ‘ruffle-shaped’”), flavor taste, smell and color of the potato chips (e.g. “Cheddar Cheese & Sour Cream yellow potato chips and reddish, light brown Hickory Smoke Barbecue potato chips”).
4. Familiarity – Lay’s Potato Chips is a classic, famous and familiar American household name brand used in a lot of daily living situations: from family barbecues, everyday lunches with sandwiches, TV commercials and American artwork and symbols (i.e. “graffiti”). This consumer knew from popular and past experience that Lay’s Potato Chip’s Brand is a proven, trusted and satisfying product for the purpose intended.
5. Convenience – This consumer could buy Lay’s Potato Chip’s at almost any store or place in America; be it Walmart, Fred Meyer, Walgreens, Albertson’s, Costco; virtually any convenience store at a gas station; public snacking vending machines, social occasions be it parties, lunch breaks at work, community events, family barbecues, potlucks…
6. Taste – The crisp, oily and fried taste of potatoes as “chips” is an appealing irresistible, unique, delicious savory taste complimentary to a variety of different food products ranging from hotdogs, hamburgers, fried chicken and sandwiches.

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Lesson: know and understand the “background” strategies at work of marketers to produce and sell your own products and/or services; though in a godly, “Christ-honoring” honest way.

You might ask: “Why the detailed analysis about potato chips?”

I say because you get to understand the variables used by greedy marketers to exploit materialistic, instant self-gratifying behavior of wicked selfish generations into making them (the marketers) “fat in bucks” and Americans and Westerners “fat in debt” over junk food and personal obesity epidemic.

Food addiction is a real major obstacle and challenge in many people’s lives today. Look around wherever you are in public and you see.

Nevertheless, when YOU the consumer learn through experience the ways marketers do their best to influence your purchasing decisions you can subconsciously make “better buys” that may actually BENEFIT YOU in the future instead of someone else’s greedy schemes.
 

"Investment Spending"

I do something I call “investment spending”.

For example, instead of repeatedly spending (i.e. “wasting”) money using a public air pump machine to pump up sports equipment like soccer or basketballs I bought a hand air pump for $9.99 at the clothing retail store Ross.

I can pump air into basketballs and soccer balls, bicycles, trolleys and anything with wheels needing air with this hand air pump that I can use anytime I need at my convenience.

You should plan similarly.

 

Create & Build Your Life Advice: The Importance of Always FOCUSING On The PRESENT TIME

The past is gone. The future is not yet here. We are living in the present and that's all that exists to us in any given moment.


Do not be discouraged by what society and people tell you what to do or believe: ONLY OBEY GOD'S WILL in your life.


Our time is short. There is no past or future but the RIGHT NOW.

Do what you need to do.

Create & Build Tip: Food Conservation

Ration eating small portions of food as needed. If you can fast in prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ for at least a day, two or three days straight; (sometimes even without water, if you are at that level of faith...) you need not worry how you will manage to eat to sustain yourself.

The Lord knoweth ye have need: KJV Matthew 6: 25-34,

 

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Trust in the Lord and He will set you free. 

 

Helpful Tip: Pick up fruits and food resources outdoors whenever available

Whenever you are walking about in natural park trails and environments make a habit of carrying around a concealed bag or wooden hand basket to pick fruits from trees, nuts, vegetables and any food resource you can find out in nature without buying them. (Note: If people get suspicious of you picking-up fruit in more publicly-seen places, carrying a wooden hand basket or "camping gear" they may perceive you as just hiking or camping outdoors.)

You might be in an environment you know where a few apple trees produce apples in the summer so when you go discreetly grab some apples you can carry as you go your way. You can come back later in the day or days later as need be to gather more apples without attracting unwanted attention from nosy people.


Where I live there are some wild blackberry thorn bushes around that produce ripe, plump, juicy blackberries in the summer so on my free time I make a habit of finding a relatively quiet, "secluded" area so I will not attract much attention from people and do some blackberry-picking.


I am also fortunate and blessed enough to know some places where I can pick some pears, plums, blueberries and cherries in the summer...


The take-home advice is this: Take complete advantage of the natural resources around you in your outside environment to keep down on unnecessary personal expenses to your daily living.

Summer is probably the best time of the year to gather up resources grown from nature without over-exerting yourself.

The Lord blessed us with His bounty in nature. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT WHERE YOU ARE.

Small Tip: Take Advantage of Public Library Resources

Some public libraries allow you to download 3 music/audio tracks every week.

That is an average 12/15 music free music/audio downloads a month in 4/5 weeks.

Take advantage of this resource and download a collection of useful "sound effects" over time for later projects.

Don't waste your music download selections each day downloading lame, classless, wicked secular pop music trash.