The Aspiring Crackpot

I just got informed last night that this month I’m going to be installed Junior Warden in Sun Moon Lodge #13! It’s really awesome to be recognized for working hard, memorizing the staircase lecture (no small task), and volunteering for everything I can. I really appreciate the brothers for their trust. Word on the wire is I’m slotted for Master of the lodge next year. What a huge responsibility!

The Master of our lodge obviously thinks I’m the right choice, I hope I can live up to his expectations. One of our brothers told me that our Master thinks I’m special (yeah, I ride the short bus) and wants me to be on my way at a younger age so I can do more good when I am older.

I know that I will have to attend many functions, travel to other lodges in SE Asia, and for the most part “be on my best behavior.” Hopefully I can make the grade! I’m a little nervous, but I’m sure I’ll get over it. Hell, it’s a year away! The question is, can my liver handle it?

Does anyone reading this have any experience becoming master of a lodge, perhaps at a young age? (I’m 28) I would love to hear some experiences and advice from you, please comment!

This is the logical continuation of my previous post $1200/yr with No Effort Whatsoever. I have been following my own advice and saving every 1NT coin that I can. After my first 2.5 months, I saved NT8,000 ($258). I am at the end of my 4th month, and I now have NT28,000 ($875) of genuine savings! Did I knock over a video arcade? No! Then where did this money come from?

I must admit, not all of this was change. In fact, I really think that 90% of it was attitude, and the other 10% was actually getting my ass to the bank.

I was walking to the bank with Nick, our Operations Manager here at ili Design. Nick is an extremely pragmatic guy who has been pinching every penny since birth. When he saw my tray of carefully separated change, he said (not unsarcastically), “Stupid. Why don’t you just make a savings plan?”

That would have been wonderful advice for someone who’s been budgeting since the womb, but this is me we’re talking about. “Guess how many deposits I’ve made since I opened this account.” Of course, he couldn’t answer. I could, right off the top of my head.

“Two,” I said. “Last month and this.” In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that it is the least stupid thing I’ve done in a long time. If playing the game of saving a handful of change every day just to see how much you can get by the end of the month will get you to the bank, it’s an awesome start. People don’t get rich (and stay rich) from windfalls like inheritance or winning the lottery, they get rich from having a saving and accruing interest over the long term. Check out “The Millionaire Next Door,” you’ll see. Anyone can do it. That means you. And me.

As an added bonus, once I got my mind into the mode of saving, I have found it easier to scrape together a few more thousand here and there to add to the pot. Now it has become a personal challenge to me, and if you have read any of my previous posts, you know that I’m a beast (actually a 40ft mechanized locomoto-beast) in the self discipline department.

It’s a good thing too, because my salary just dropped 60%. It’s a good thing I’ve been practicing. Now I can ONLY save change!