The first haircut, Kiyosaki’s Five G’s

Maggie was telling me yesterday about giving Aaron a haircut. Now, understand that Aaron’s mom has done the haircutting in the past so this is another task being taken over by the wife that was once common mommy time. Maggie was relating how Aaron was trying to instruct her from the position of the one in the chair, because the way she was doing things did not seem familiar to him. He wanted her to cut his hair the same length all over, but she insisted on having the top a little longer. As it turned out the haircut came out a little lopsided and I am sure they corrected it. Maggie said it looked pretty good after all the fussing and rework was done, but she also said he put on a toboggan before he reported to work.


My dad used to tell me the difference between a good haircut and a bad one was three days. He and my Mom went through the same routine. Nate and I have chosen a different route and do the cutting ourselves – bare clippers, down to the skin. It took some time for Cori and Mama to get used to it but it saves so much frustration. After all, it’s only hair.

As I was listening to GBTV (a very good $10 per month investment) I got to hear Robert Kiyosaki and Glenn talk about all sorts of financial topics mostly dealing with the predicted economic downturn that both men see as eminent. By Kiyosaki’s own admission, he is not a genius but hard times have made him wise as an investor and land owner. Both men are looking at the trends and preparing for times ahead that will differ from anything the world has yet experienced. (It sounds ominously like the Tribulation.)

Kiyosaki outlined his five G’s for the perilous times ahead. What especially caught my attention was his discussion about the real estate part of preparation. He explained that each of us needed a “safe haven” in the times to come. That is one of the names Victoria came up with for our farm and it was my favorite. If it is not taken, we will register it as our business name in the very near future. Below are the five G’s.

Gold – Physical precious metals In the worst of times script, paper money will have no value.

Ground – Real estate (a safe haven where you can live)

Gas – some store of fuel to operate your vehicles and machinery; for us, a tractor or two

Grub – enough food stored to last at least one year or a way to produce you own food

Guns – to protect yourself and what you have developed and stored

Scary but practical and the gas part may be difficult unless we do biodiesel.

I do not think those times are upon us now, but some preparation would be in order for all of us. Mama and I are trying to stock up on some non-perishables, more as a bad weather supply or a hedge against prices going up. I have not gotten into planning very long term because it seems a little paranoid still.

There are still some practical things all of us should do regardless of the state of the world economy; get what you have paid for, get completely out of debt, have enough money set aside to make it through an emergency, stock up to compensate for rising prices, plan trips so driving is minimized, grow some food and learn to preserve/can/freeze your own supplies.

The more we can do for ourselves, the more prepared we will be and the better able to help those in need.