Interrupting Phone Conversations: Ummm, Excuse You!

I was raised with a high standard of decorum and manners, that stretched beyond "please and thank you."  My mom wanted her sons to be polite, respectful gentleman, period. She especially stressed that with phone conversations. My brother and I both l learned at an early age when Mom was on the telephone, not to interrupt her,  and to be quiet so she could hear the other person.

Technology has changed this paradigm in a major way. I will be on my cell phone in public and people will not only say hi or hug me (both are fine) but they will try and have a conversation with me. Sometimes if the call is not important, I will call them back and talk with the live person. However, I have been known to give people the side-eye indicating "I'm on the phone, please do not interrupt. "  That matters not to many people. 

It does seem to be a learned behavior also. Children see their parents interrupting people's conversations in public, so they see nothing wrong with doing the same. One of my best friends has a five year old daughter and he's teaching her the old school manners that we both grew up learning. We were on the phone once and the young child kept hollering and screaming for her daddy. My friend used a stern tone and said "baby I'm on the phone right now, please wait a minute. ". If only more parents did this.

Each year brings a new piece of technology.  Windows 8. Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.1. And now the iPhone 5c and 5s. With each new piece of technology comes more features to make personal communication obsolete and irrevelent.

However, being kind and considerate and simply treating others like you want to be treated should never go out of style.  If you see someone on the phone, signal or wave at them, then wait until they get off the phone. It's that easy. Rarely does anyone interrupting have a true emergency anyways.

Now even with Blutooth and hands free devices, it often may be difficult to see if someone is on the phone or not.  However, once you realize it, the same rules apply.

People don't often realize how much something affects them until they experience it and that's sad. 

Be Thankful For What You Have Year Round

I heard on a radio show recently that the slogan at the unemployment office should be to be thankful for what you have before it becomes what you had. That got me to thinking, especially for those experiencing hardships and such.

Ok so you don't have the person of your dreams? You're not making six figures. You can't afford or get the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy III. Heck your phone can't even get Instagram and you're feeling deprived like an unpopular high school student. There are far greater tragedies.

Now think about this: someone died last night and it wasn't you. You are still breathing, you have money coming in, and you have warm food and a roof over your head. You have people that care about you. All of your bodily parts and joints are attached and functional. You have all your senses. There is still good in the world. Basically, there is a lot to be thankful for.

Someone out there may have it better than you, but there is always someone worse off.

 
Watching movies such as It's A Wonderful Life can put life into perspective. One must think how different things would be if they never existed at all. Each of our lives truly has an impact.

Therefore, be thankful for what you have accomplished and the treasures that are available. Just like cheap gas, 99 cent double cheeseburgers, and even job security, they could all be gone in an instant.

 
It seems to have become a common theme on Facebook this month for users to list things they are thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.  I personally believe this is awesome. This should be done year round, not just for one month. Thanksgiving is over now: so now as the December holidays and the year winds down, its time to remain thankful.  

 
Continue to practice this the next time you spend your evenings listening to sad music and sulking.Trust me; it isn't worth all of the self-pity.

 

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Financial Tips Part 2

OK here are some more tips for staying economically sound, even if our country's credit rating has been downgraded.

- Make a budget and stick to it

Self explanatory but true. Budget your money every week, down to the last dollar. A good rule of thumb is the 80-10-10 rule. Use 80% of your earnings for bills and miscellanei, 10 for your tithes, and the final 10 for savings.

- Use discount websites to purchase goods and services.

Just to name a few, ecartshopping.biz, cellphoneshop.net, hotels.com, restaurant.com, spun.com ( for music and movies), . Websites such as these allow top notch goods and services at super bargains.

- Don't ever throw away a sales paper again.

Stay on the lookout for sales, BOGOs, and goods sold in bulk at. a fraction of the cost. Stock up so you save more later.

- Wait for new technology, CDs, DVDs, etc

Trust me, things go obsolete fast, and new technology takes a while to work out kinks and bugs. You can get stuff in better working order, and often cheaper and higher quality, if you just wait. If you're eyeing the iPhone5, I would suggest waiting for Christmastime. Should make for a nice present.

- Get flexible medical spending at your job, if its available

For just a few bucks taken out of each paycheck, you have your own personal savings, just for medical purposes and emergencies. From extensive dental work in 2007 and 2008 to my incident with my finger around this time last year, flexible spending has saved my behind time and time again.

- Have frequent yard sales, make trips to pawn shops and such, to sell stuff you do not need

That's all for now. I may make this a monthly series

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4