Sushi Money 寿司的钱

I grew up with the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared.”  Not that we can prepare for everything, but it’s usually in the back of my mind… this little voice whispering in my ear until I finally do something about it.  I won’t go into the other little voices I hear(!) but suffice it to say that I like taking care of little problems before they become bigger problems.  It doesn’t always work out that way however.我成长与童子军的座右铭“作好准备。 ”不，我们可以准备的一切，但它通常是在回我的心…这个小的声音，窃窃私语，在我的耳朵，直到最后我做一些，所以我将不会进入其他小的声音，我听到（ ！ ） ，但足以说明我喜欢照顾小的问题之前，他们成为更大的问题，它并不总是工作，但这种方式。

Take last year for example.  We just moved into a new (for us) home in the country.  We live about an hour from a major metropolitan area, but definitely in the country… farm fields and forest to be seen for miles.  Winter in the midwest can get mighty cold, and one of my goals was to have a wood burning stove.  Not only do I enjoy the warmth of a wood stove, but I like the security it provides in terms of raw heat, whether you have electricity or not. So we purchased a nice wood burning insert for the fireplace, and I spent the Fall season cutting, stacking and procuring seasoned firewood.以去年为例，我们刚刚搬进了新的（我们）的家中的国家，我们的生活了约一个小时，由一个主要的都会区，但肯定在该国…农田和森林被看到英里。冬季在中西部地区可以得到强大的冷战，和我的其中一个目标是有一个木材燃烧炉，不仅做我喜欢的温暖木材另起炉灶，但我喜欢它提供的安全而言，原材料耐热，您是否有电力或没有，所以我们购买了很好的木材燃烧插入为壁炉，和我花了秋天切割，堆叠和采购经验丰富的木柴。

It was not a little expense however… after installation the wood insert cost exceeded $3000.  I plunked it on the credit card before using a timely 12-month 0% balance transfer option for another card.  It took some rationalizing that buying the wood burning insert was something we needed… really it was something I always wanted.  And we enjoyed using it as winter grew colder.  Something we did need however was a good backup generator for the house.这是不小的开支，但…安装后的木材插入的成本超过3000美元，我plunked ，这对信用卡使用前及时12个月的0 ％余额转帐选择另一张信用卡，它采取了一些合理化购买木材燃烧插入是我们真的需要…这是我一直想和我们所享有的使用它随着冬天的到来，寒冷的增长。东西，我们需要的不过是一个很好的后备发电机，供内务。 Power outages are not uncommon where we live, and we were fortunate to inherit an older Honda generator.  Being the practical “be prepared” kind of guy, I routinely started the generator once or twice a month to make sure it would be functional should we ever need it.停电是并不罕见，我们的生活，我们幸运地继承旧本田发电机，作为实际的“准备”种家伙，我照例开始发电机一次或两次一个月，以确保它会功能，我们应以往任何时候都需要它。

That day finally arrived with a monster ice storm last winter that coated roads, trees and powerlines with temperatures in the low teens and 20’s.  Ice and electric power lines do not mix well, and within 24 hours the entire metro region was in a series of outages that lasted almost a week.  Normally with power outages, we wait several hours to see if the power comes back on (as it usually does) before hooking up the generator.  That first day I filled up the trusty wood burning insert, and we stayed fairly toasty while burning wood with the residual heat inside the home.  As night came with the power still off, I resigned myself to starting the generator, but very glad we had it.  Out it came while I beamed with pride for my wisdom in making sure it was ready to run.  ”Time for some power!” I thought…  Or not.  After 30 minutes of yanking, pulling and a few colorful words, the dang thing simply would not start.  So it was going to be a dark night at the homefront!这一天终于来到一个怪物的冰暴，去年冬季认为，涂层的道路，树木和电力，气温低，在十几岁和二十的。冰和电力线路不要混淆好，在24小时内，整个新城地区是在一一连串的停电持续了将近一个星期。正常停电，我们等待了几个小时，看看是否有权就回来（通常） ，然后连接发电机，即第一一天，我填补了可靠的木材燃烧的插入，我们下榻的公平温室的同时，燃烧木材与残余热内回家。晚上来到与电力仍然小康，我辞职，自己开始，发电机，但很高兴我们。出来，后来我虽然播送与自豪，我智慧在作出肯定，它准备运行“的时间为一些权力！ ： ”我认为… …或没有。 30分钟后唬弄，拉动和一些丰富多彩的，换言之，党的事根本不会开始，所以这是要一个黑暗的夜晚在homefront ！

That night I stoked that wood burning insert for all it was worth, and although much of the house was pretty chilly, we curled up in the living room and enjoyed the radiated warmth that only a wood fire and cast iron can bring.  There’s something very rewarding about fire in the midst of freezing weather.  Yes, we might have been able to pack up the car to drive for an hour and find a hotel somewhere, but that wasn’ta sure bet with all the power outages.  More importantly, the icy roads and snow coming down was a safety consideration.  With a family, animals and a house you’re concerned about, you try to stay around if possible.  There’s another motto that comes in handy… “Don’t make a bad situation worse.”  Driving was out of the question, but we actually enjoyed a comforable night with a toasty wood fire, albeit without the usual amenities of home.这晚上，我巴基斯坦人的木材燃烧插入为所有是值得，虽然大部分的房子相当寒冷，我们卷曲起来，在客厅和享有辐射的温暖，只有木材的消防和铸铁可以使有一些很有益的约的火灾中处于冰冻天气。不错，我们可能已能收拾行李车，以推动一个小时，并找到一间酒店的某处，但肯定不是打赌，所有停电更重要的，道路结冰和积雪下来是一个安全的考虑，有了一个家庭，动物和一所房子您关心，您尝试留在靠近如果可能的。还有一个座右铭来在方便… … “不一个坏的情况弄得更糟。 “驾驶失控的问题，但我们其实有着comforable夜间温室木材火灾，虽然没有惯常的市容的家园。

Fortunately, we awoke the next day to decent weather and improving roads.  I drove into a smaller town a half hour away to try and find some new spark plugs and starting fluid, and about midday arrived back at home. I finally got the generator started and we were off to the races.  But the thing about small portable generators is that it takes fuel for them to run… I had only stored a single days worth of fuel, not enough to run non-stop without multiple trips for fuel.  But it was enough… it lasted almost a day running what we needed in the house, while most of the house stayed warm enough with the wood stove. The power came back on briefly the second day… back off for another night, then back again “for good” on the third day.   No real crisis, but enough challenges to make us really appreciate the power company!幸运的是，我们醒来的第二天，体面的天气和改善道路，我将成为一个规模较小的城市1个半小时离开，以设法找出一些新的火花塞和流体开始，约中午抵达回到家里，我终于发电机开始我们起飞的比赛，但事情小型便携式发电机是，它需要的燃料，它们运行… …我只储存一个单一的天值得燃料，没有足够的运行不停止，没有多人次为燃料，但这是不够的… …它持续了几乎一天运行的是什么，我们需要在众议院，而大部分的房子住过的热情足以与木材炉灶。电力回来，就简单的第二天…回到起飞的另一个晚上，然后回再次“为良好“就第三天。没有真正的危机，但有足够的挑战，使我们真正体会到电力公司！

As I get ready to pay off that credit card debt, I look back and consider how much it cost to purchase and install that stove.  And I’ve found it doesn’t really matter… what matters is the security we have in the form of something that serves as a “back up” to heat the home in winter.  Actually we use it almost everyday in winter to supplement heat and cut down the electricity bill.  (And it’sa clean burning wood insert with the highest EPA ratings for air cleanliness… you hardly see any smoke coming out the chimney as it reburns most of it).  I consider that stove one of the best “investments” I’ve ever made for the value it brings to our family.  And you know what?  I can see how an emergency fund serves a similar purpose.  It’s like having a “wood stove” or  “generator” in your bank account… ready in case you ever really need it.  Unlike a wood stove however, it shouldn’t be used regularly!  But it can supplement your financial needs when times get tough.正如我准备还清信用卡的债务，我回头看，并考虑了多少成本，购买和安装炉灶。和我发现它并不真正的事… …什么要紧的是安全，我们在形式的东西，这提供了一个“回”热民政在冬季，其实我们使用它，几乎每天都在冬季，以补充热量和降低电力条例草案。 （和它的清洁燃烧木材插入与美国环保局的最高收视率空气洁净… …你几乎看不到任何烟雾走出来烟囱，因为它reburns大部分） 。我认为炉灶，其中一个最好的“投资”我已经取得了以往任何时候都为它的价值，使我们的家庭和你知道什么？我可以看到如何在一个紧急基金提供了类似的目的，它就像有一个“木另起炉灶”或“发电机”在您的银行帐户…准备就绪，以防万一您真的需要它。不像木材炉灶，但是，它不应该将被定期！但它可以补充您的财务需求时，采取强硬。

There’s another analogy worth looking at… paying down debt.  In many ways, paying off debt is similar to cutting firewood.  There’s an old saying, “Wood heats you twice… once when you’re cutting it, and again when you burn it!”  Paying down debt can achieve similar results… you’re “paying yourself twice” by getting rid of the debt burden and financing costs, while making room to use cash for savings at a later time.  What about the generator that wouldn’t start?  Well, I look at that like not having an emergency fund.  We take so much for granted that we don’t think of the unexpected.  We work hard to stay prepared, and rationalize that we don’t need to save so much money.  But we may not be as quite as prepared as we think, especially if we don’t have a fairly liquid emergency fund ready to meet needs in times of crisis or challenge.还有一个比喻，值得看…支付下来的债务。在许多方面， 小康支付的债务是类似切削柴烧。有句古话， “木复赛您两次…一旦当您切割它，并再次当你烧！ “支付下来的债务可以达到类似的结果…您”付出自己的两次“摆脱债务负担和融资成本，同时使房间使用现金储蓄在稍后的时间。什么关于发生器会不会启动？那么，我看一样，没有一个紧急基金，我们采取了这么多理所当然地认为，我们不认为该意料中事。我们努力工作，留在准备，并使之合理化，我们并不需要节省这么多钱，但我们未必是相当准备，因为我们认为，特别是如果我们不有相当的液体紧急基金准备，以应付需求，在危机时刻或挑战。

What did I learn from that ice storm last winter?  I learned that spending money, even using credit wisely, to ensure your safety, comfort and security can be a pretty good investment.   And  that  “being prepared” is a positive mindset… yet even when you think you are, the unexpected can always happen.  Having the security of a back-up plan, and an emergency fund in the bank is also a pretty darn good investment!什么我学习从冰暴，去年冬天呢？我了解到，大洒金钱，甚至利用信用卡明智，以确保您的安全性，舒适性和安全性可以是一个不错的投资，以及“正在准备”是一个积极的心态…然而，即使当你以为你是，突如其来的可以随时发生。具有安全一回行动计划，和一个紧急基金，在银行也是一个漂亮的石坝良好的投资！

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