Mike Loades is an expert on medieval fighting. He brings energy and, not just bookish learning, but insights from hands-on use. I loved the five-part Weapons That Made Britain television series for which he was the host and chief consultant. And so I looked to see if there was anything else he’d done. I found he’d written two books, which I am so happy to have read.
The Longbow is not just a book about the longbow. It’s about its construction and how it impacted the development of armor, and types of armor, and the wood used for the bow, and how to make arrows, and what the various points were for, and how people trained, and then cared for the bows, and how it was used in war. And, again, the insights are not just bookish ones. He’s walked the battlefields. He’s used bows for years. He’s performed tests with them. It is a 80-page book that carries a monstrous bang for the buck and one of the best purchases I’ve made for my library. I loved it.
Of course, after that experience, I had to get his Swords & Swordsmen. This book is almost 500 pages long, and I was rapt reading each page of it. Instead of focusing on one version of this weapon, Loades discusses exemplars of various types of swords through time, starting with the sword of Tutankhamun in Egypt all the way through the swords of J.E.B. Stuart and G.A. Custer in the American Civil War. There are 15 chapters all discussing different eras and swords that provide a mountain of insight. The love Loades has for and the practical experience he has with the topic shines through on every page. Just as with The Longbow, you’ll learn about use, construction, the interplay with armor, and much more. Heck, I got the ideas for at least three novels reading this book. I loved it as much as I loved the first.
If you enjoy military history and arms and armor, you will love these books. Guaranteed.
While you’re waiting for them to arrive in the mail, treat yourself to five hours of fascinating video below.
No, really. It’s true. You just have to spend smartly. And in a special way.
Over the course of your life, if you make what the average American does, more than a million dollars will flow through your hands. And yet so many of us don’t feel rich. That’s because money is like the Gingerbread Man. Turn your back on it, and it’s out the door, rudely taunting everyone as it flies by. And then it gets eaten by a fox. Such a waste.
But it doesn’t have to be.
Let me share with you THE best method I’ve found for managing my money. It takes tons of anxiety out of spending and saving. And, if you’re a Dave Ramsey fan, it is the one thing upon which everything else he teaches depends. If you’re not a Ramsey fan, it doesn’t matter. After getting a job, this is the first thing you must do to get rich.
Here’s the big secret. It has three parts:
1) Decide how much you’re going to spend on various things BEFORE you spend it
2) Make what you have left in each spending category EASY to track
3) Manage the things you can’t foresee
To do the first two parts, you’re going to create a special kind of spending plan. We won’t use the term “budgeting” because “spending” is so much more fun, and because that’s what we’re going to do anyway. To understand how to do this, you need to watch three videos.
Before you do, please know I earned a Masters degree in accounting. I’ve used Quicken for more than twenty years. Neither of those things has helped me manage my money like this simple method. If you’re looking for a better way to manage your money, this is it.
First, watch this video to get an overall idea of how this method works.
Note: you can use actual envelopes and cash for everything if that makes you happy, but you really don’t need to. The idea is to think of pre-allocating your monthly income to categories of expenses AND then having an easy way to track what’s left.
Now, watch this bubba explain how he does it.
But John, didn’t he say the same thing?
Basically, but he has a fun accent. Besides, it’s good to see another example. And please note again: you don’t have to use actual envelopes and cash, although many swear by them.
Finally, watch this one. No, it’s not just another repeat. There are some additional important ideas illustrated here.
This video brings up the idea of why simply tracking an overall account balance isn’t very helpful. It also shows you WHY envelope categories are–they make it immediately apparent how much money you have to spend for a thing. If you just use Quicken to track what you spent (looking in the past), you’ll run into troubles. Let me tell you, I know this from experience. We use Quicken, and have for years, and plan use it for some time to come because it makes taxes and bank reconciliation a snap. But Quicken only tracks what you spent. Tracking, as important as it is, is not the key to success. The key is pre-allocating BEFORE you spend. And then tracking so you know what you have left in that category. And making that tracking EASY.
The final thing you have to do is manage the things you can’t foresee because things rarely go exactly to plan. Unexpected things ALWAYS come up. Your daughter will crash the car. Your husband will get appendicitis. You will forget that you had a $200 school sports expense.
Okay, fine. Things happen. But how do you manage them if you can’t foresee them?
If it’s really small, you simply adjust your plan. For example, if you need $30 more in food, you can transfer it from fuel if you have some extra there.
You manage larger things by building up an emergency fund. Ramsey suggests starting with a $1,000 emergency fund and then trying to get two to three months of living expenses—about $10,000 to $15,000 for most people. Unexpected things WILL happen and cost your money. So build up some cushion to take care of them.
Finally, you manage the really large things by getting proper insurance. This is what insurance is for. The types of insurance you need include (1) homeowner’s or renter’s, (2) auto, (3) medical, (4) long-term disability, (5) long-term care (for those 60 and older), and (6) life insurance. You may add true identity theft insurance as well.
Okay, so that’s the overview. If you want to try this, here’s how you do it. It’s fairly easy.
STEP 1: get your head straight
Resolve that you will NOT use credit for anything. You will not spend any money you don’t have. You will not put another dime on a credit card, and this despite the fact that the plastic devil companies are begging you with offers almost every day to sign up for their cards. (Hum, I wonder how they afford all that junk mail.) If your monthly bills are greater than your income, then we have to fix that first. But the new law of the land is zero new debt.
Next, always remember to allocate your money to these categories first—shelter, food, adequate clothing, and adequate transportation. This means if you have a crunch month, you would NOT pay credit card bills before food, even if you work for Visa.
STEP 2: get your blank sheet & pencil
Get out a piece of paper and pencil (not a pen) or open an Excel spreadsheet. Whoa, that was an easy step.
STEP 3: list your monthly income
List your expected monthly income at the top from all sources.
STEP 4: list your spending categories
List your spending categories. You’re going to split them into two groups.
The first group goes right below your income and includes all of your recurring monthly expense/spending categories. Not the amounts you spend. Just the categories. Things like mortgage, electricity, phone, groceries, dining, etc. Make sure you include some entertainment/fun money.
The second group goes below your recurring monthly expenses and includes all of your major annual periodic expense/spending categories. Things like Christmas, vacation, clothing, kids back to school stuff, etc. And things you want to save for—a couch, iPhone, car, etc. Your emergency fund goes here as well.
Decide how much you will spend in each category this month. You should have 0 dollars when you get to the bottom of the sheet. Spend (allocate) every dime BEFORE you start the month. You’re going to do this at the beginning of each month. And you will probably have to adjust it a couple of times during the month.
You will probably have categories that don’t get any money this month.
You will also have categories that get money, but you won’t spend any of it this month. These are your periodic expenses. Your goal is to have the cash up front to pay for them, so you have to save for them. Remember, you are NOT going to take on any new debt.
For example, if you’re saving up for Christmas, you allocate some money for that out of this month’s funds and TRANSFER it to savings. Then it will be there when you need it. You could draw the cash out and put it in an actual envelope, but you don’t have to. Just as long as you keep a record of the total amount in savings and what it’s all supposed to be for, i.e. total savings in July = $1,000: $500 for back to school, $200 for Christmas, and $300 for my trip with kids to Six Flags in 2013.
STEP 6: mark the “watch” categories
Some of the categories you need to watch closely, and some you don’t. The ones you need to watch closely will be your “envelope watch” categories.
The categories you don’t need to watch as closely are those that are automatically taken out of your account each month. And those you will write a check once a month for. These things include mortgage, car payment, electricity, etc. These are NOT categories you need to use actual envelopes for. You can track it on paper or in the spreadsheet. Not much happens with these categories.
But there are other categories that you’re going to be spending throughout the month, and it’s easy to over spend if you don’t track them. Groceries, dining, entertainment, gasoline, a specific vacation, etc. are all categories that you make multiple purchases with each month and are flexible/discretionary and need to be watched closely. So while everything is tracked in a category/envelope on paper or on the computer, you’ll track these with either a real envelope and cash or a virtual one using that free software you saw in the third video or a piece of paper with a running category balance in your wallet.
STEP 7: have fun and spend!
Now go out and spend!
Before spending, check your envelope. Do you have enough money? If you do, spend and be happy. If not, save up for it or find a way to save money in another category and adjust so that you’re still spending the same total amount. Never spend what you don’t have.
If you feel you need something not planned for, well, you have to get it later OR transfer something out of another envelope. I just make myself wait a day or three, and usually the urge to buy, Buy, BUY! goes away, and I see I don’t “need” it right now. Or maybe a more affordable option presents itself.
If the kids want something, and you feel guilty you can’t give it to them, just tell them what’s in the envelope/category, and tell them they can save for it or choose something else in that category that will fit with what you have left.
If you’re tracking envelopes virtually or using the paper balance in your wallet, you MUST update your envelope AFTER every purchase so you don’t spend more than you have. If you find you just can’t seem to remember to do this, go to the cash method.
That’s it!
Of course, that’s not quite it because even though it’s easy, if you haven’t done this before, it might take some adjustment. Give yourself a month or three to get it down. Because when you do, it WILL produce great results and peace. It’s doing that for us.
If you feel you need more info, I suggest you read Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money. Here’s the first chapter to sample: Complete Guide To Money sample chapter.
Happy spending.
EDIT: here’s another video to watch: http://www.youneedabudget.com/. Then read about the method: http://www.youneedabudget.com/method. This one highlights the idea that you need to make sure you realize that things will happen that you cannot foresee. No plan survives contact with the enemy.
My wife and girls do not. Something about bruising and pain.
We could get pantywaist nerf guns. We do have some PVC marshmellow shooters. But a man wants something with a bit more kick.
I think I’ve found it. They’re called AirForce BlowGuns. Like PVC guns, you power them with your own breath. Unlike a lot of those guns, these seem to have some power.
If you’ve decided to try the whole-food, plant-based
lifestyle (WFPB) to lose weight or lower your risk of certain diseases, you
will immediately find there’s a bit of a learning curve.
That’s because the food culture in the United States is geared
towards foods that are animal-based and processed—cheese, meats, sugar, flour-based
products, chips, candy, etc. In fact, WFPB is such a large change, you might
wonder if you’ll be eating anything other than cardboard.
I can happily report that WFPB eating is satisfying and delicious.
Let’s review the general guidelines. With WFPB there are
three things to avoid or minimize.
Added sugar (and artificial sweeteners)
Flour-based products
Animal-based products (meat, dairy, eggs)
And there are five things you eat. The main four include:
Legumes
Grains (as close to whole kernel as you can get
it)
Vegetables
Fruits (natural form, not canned)
The fifth category is some added fat on the side. That includes
things like a tablespoon of mayo, peanut butter, oil, avocado, etc. Or it could
be an ounce of nuts or seeds.
We’ve found it easiest to compose a meal by simply thinking
about the five categories and filling in the blanks. If you don’t include one
of the main four groups in a meal, that’s fine. Just be sure you’re not
excluding it all the time.
There are dozens and dozens of delicious meals. Over the next
months I’ll be sharing some of those we love. Let’s start with the base.
The base
Grains
Our InstaPot has been a huge help with grains. It makes them
so easy to cook. You can make them in a batch and enjoy them over the course of
a few days.
Wheat
2 cups food storage wheat berries (Yes! Finally
a use for all those bags of food storage wheat in the basement!)
5.5 cups water (or use vegetable stock if you
want it savory)
½ tsp salt
Cook for 35 minutes on high pressure followed by
immediate pressure release. Drain if necessary.
Rye berries, oat groats, pearled barley, brown rice
2 cups grain
2.5 cups water (or vegetable stock if you want
it savory)
½ tsp salt
Cook for 22 minutes on high pressure followed by
10 minutes of natural pressure release. Drain if necessary.
When you want the grain as a savory dish, use vegetable
broth or stock. It gives the grain a wonderful flavor. It’s total magic. You
can get cartons at the grocery store for under two bucks.
For rice, we love the Lundberg wild rice mix. Lundberg also happens
to be California rice which doesn’t have the high levels of arsenic that rice
from the Southern United States has.
Legumes
Lentils
1 cup brown or green lentils (do not use red for
this)
2 cups vegetable broth (the broth is the magical
ingredient)
½ tsp salt
Cook for 15 minutes on high with 10 minutes of
natural pressure release. Drain if necessary.
For other beans, we just purchased them in the can. They’re cheap
and easy. Pinto, black, white, black-eyed peas, etc. You might find it easiest to
start with pinto and garbanzo beans.
Fruits
Easy. Just get whole fruits. You can also get the frozen
berries and cherries.
Vegetables
Easy. Just get a variety of veggies and salad.
Nuts and seeds
Easy. Get whole almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc. Whatever you
like. Try to get them raw. You can heat them up in a pan on the over before you
eat. Stove-roasted pecans are tasty.
Added oils
Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil. You’re not going to be
using a ton. If you want to use mayo and salad dressing, do it. Again, you’re
not going to be using much.
Spices
Use all you want—cinnamon, ginger, basil, etc. Also use
mustard, soy sauce, hot sauce. Balsamic vinegar is great on many things.
Recipes
With meal recipes we mix and match. Here are some meals we
like.
Grain Bowl
For 1 person.
4-6 oz of grain
6 oz of berries, cherries, or 1 whole fruit
Some almond milk
Some spices like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
or ginger (could do fresh ginger if you like it), or cocoa.
1 oz of nuts, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or 1
tablespoon of coconut cream
Heat in microwave if desired
Great for breakfast. Using different fruits and spices gives
it lots of variety from day to day.
Homemade Costa Vida Salad
For 1 person.
4-6 oz beans
3-4 oz salad greens (you will need a big bowl)
Some mango salsa
1 tablespoon Ranch dressing or may
2 or 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Just mix it all up and enjoy. You can add cooked rice if you
want and other sautéed veggies. You can also add rosemary leaves and turmeric
for the health benefits.
Other tips
Here are some other things we’ve found.
Broccoli tastes the best, hands down, when
cooked in a steamer.
Cabbage is great when steamed and stir fried
with soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder, and onion powder
Succotash is tasty, especially if you make it
with some small cubes of potato.
You can substitute lentils for ground beef in
many meals. We’ve done it with stuff green peppers, shepherd’s pie, and many
others, and our picky, teenage daughter actually likes it.
Some corn added to beans for a burrito or chili gives
it a nice sweet flavor.
Sautéed mushrooms are great with onion powder,
garlic powder, and thyme.
Garbanzos go really well with peanuts.
We’re not fanatics about this. But I’d say we’ve been able
to get 90% of the way to a WFPB lifestyle. And we’re enjoying the food. In
fact, the longer we eat this way, the tastier it becomes.
For about two years, we ate a diet high in vegetables and
animal-based foods (meat, dairy, and eggs). We were diligent, but didn’t see
the results we hoped for. Four months ago, we switched over to WFPB. I recently
had some blood work done. After four months of eating this new way, I’ve
dropped about fifteen pounds. My total cholesterol is down from 214 to 188. My blood
sugar levels went from 107 to 83. And my blood pressure has improved. And that’s
after just four months with some days of holiday eating mixed in. I can’t wait
to see what happens after eating this way for a year.
If you want to hear the research behind this to consider the
evidence yourself, I recommend the following:
The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study
of Nutrition Ever Conducted (Revised and Expanded) by Colin T. Campbell,
PhD
Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition
by Colin T. Campbell, PhD
How Not to Die: Discover the Foods
Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger,
M.D.
How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science
of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Greger, M.D.
You can get all of them from your local library.
If they don’t have the books there physically, ask the librarian how to use
their Overdrive account to check out an ebook or audio book version online.
Do you regularly sit through meetings that seem to accomplish nothing?
Meetings where people drone on and on and on.
Meetings where people discuss and no decision is ever made.
Meetings that always slide off topic.
Meetings that should never have been held in the first place.
In many cases, the reason these meetings stink is because those organizing them are not aware there’s any other way to hold a meeting. But there is. I was fortunate enough to have been exposed to it just out of college while working for a business consulting firm in San Francisco. (And why they didn’t teach this in my business degree I will never know!)
After learning the simple and powerful principles, I was eventually paid to plan and facilitate meetings for clients. In some of these meetings they were making incredibly important decisions. I remember a client flying me and a colleague from San Francisco to Delaware for two days of meetings.
You might be groaning at the thought. But they paid thousands of dollars to have us come and facilitate. And when we were done, the energy in the room was palpable. A number of those that were involved were astounded and said they’d never been involved in such productive sessions. They’d accomplished more in the hours we were there than in months of other meetings. They were happy and grateful we’d come.
Think of that—happy and grateful for a meeting that went on for hours!
When meetings are done right, the collaboration and synergy can be amazing. Now, you may think that some secret handshake is required to learn how to do this. Or that it’s only for those with some special knack. Or that it’s only for high-powered jobs. If you do, you’d be wrong.
And that’s because you can learn the principles all for a few bucks. They’re laid out in perfect clarity in How to Make Meetings Work by Michael Doyle and David Straus. This is the book that was the source of our training sessions all those years ago. And I reread it every few years to brush up. The principles work in everything from a family council to a board meeting to class settings. I know because I’ve used the ideas in all of them. And when I fail to take just a few minutes to prepare, that’s when the meeting becomes, well, just another (yawn) meeting.
If you hold meetings of any kind and want to improve them, give this book a try. I think you’ll be happy you did.
If you’ve read my article on the Teachers section, you know I think a good portion of what we do in our public schools is a waste of time because it’s not driven by any natural motivation. The result is that students are bored more than they need to be. They develop a distaste for many subjects that could provide them great joy. Finally, when they do learn, it’s for a test, not life. And so when the test is over the promptly forget what they’ve learned.
This is not to say that I’m against testing or teaching to a test. Far from it. A good test demonstrates that you’ve learned what you’re supposed to have learned. A good test focuses on the main things you want to learn. Good tests (and there are many types of tests) are critical. The problem is the objectives the tests are built on. If the objectives are idiotic then teaching to the test becomes idiotic.
Now Nellie just got a job (we’re so happy!) teaching 7th and 8th grade English. For some of you that will elicit groans. The memories of supreme boredom produced by endless grammar lessons and assigned readings with worksheets are still that strong. And Nellie and I had the same feelings. If her job was to teach grammar et al for nine months, she was going to shrivel and die.
Because grammar is bad? No, for heaven’s sake. Because grammar isn’t the point. Nor are assigned readings. Or iambic pentameter, rising action, theme, character, plot, induction, deduction, the six traits and all the rest of the usual suspects. The point is to enjoy writing and reading for the things writing and reading do.
So we’ve been working and disussin how she might still meet all the state requirements yet teach the practical joy. Becasue if she teaches the joy, then the students will become better readers and writers than they ever could be otherwise. Which means they’ll be able to do and enjoy the things that can be enjoyed and done when you know how to write and read. Case in point: our girls. Nellie’s done such a good job teaching the joy of reading that we have to ground them from books every once in a while.
So anyway, I came up with some ideas, a first draft of a curriculum. Of course, starting from scratch is a huge project. There were issues with it. More importantly, would it work? You don’t want to risk your first year on the job. Luckily, Nellie is smarter than I am and found someone who already discovered this wheel. Nellie handed me Nancie Atwell’s In the Middle.
I began to read, and I didn’t stop until almost 1 AM. Everything I’ve learned about teaching in the last 20 years, everything I’ve learned about learning how to write in the last 20 years–it’s all there. The key principles are all there. And the implementation of those principles is simple and proven (they actually test results).
What are the principles? What is the program?
Read the book. Heck, just read the first chapter.
I cannot tell you how excited I am for Nellie. We ordered these books and can’t wait to devour them.
In the Middle: New Understanding About Writing, Reading, and Learning
The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers
Lessons That Change Writers
Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons
Side by Side: Essays on Teaching to Learn
Nellie is also going to apply for a four-day intership at the Center for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb, Maine. I hope she gets in. She’s also going to do a week-long writer’s workshop at BYU.
Stay tuned. I’m going to twist her arm and see if she won’t blog about her experience this first year.
I think this has just become one of my favorite Card stories (note: like Stonefather, this is NOT a novel, but another novella). I’m sure part of the interest stemmed from the religious angle. Many people of many differing faiths will see their religion in it, but there were so many of my own beliefs twisted and made into frights that I felt Card was speaking directly to me. I’m sure another part was that I served my LDS mission in the Netherlands and the story revolves around a Dutch tradition. And it didn’t hurt that I listened to the audio version read by Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki. But there was more to it than that. In the end, it was the saving of the main character, Zeck Morgan, that made me care.
Because I should be working on my novel now, I’m going to simply quote the summary from Publisher’s Weekly review so you get an idea of what it’s about: “When Zeck Morgan, the young son of a puritanical minister, qualifies for admission into the International Fleet’s Battle School, he is brought to the school against his will. Citing his pacifist religious beliefs, Zeck refuses to participate in any simulated war games, but when he sees a Dutch student give a friend a small present in celebration of Sinterklaas Day, he [thinks he sees a way to be sent home].”
Okay, so I shortened the PW summary. I did so because this isn’t about religious holidays, as their summary leads you to believe. It’s about something far more important, and Card does a great job writing about it.
