I get to handle the messages Sue doesn’t want to respond to. This one really helped me clear up something that some people seem to take the wrong way… We don’t recommend that everyone should do what we’re doing. It would be crazy for us to suggest how other people SHOULD live. We’re figuring out what works for us… and if that resonates with you, hang out more with us!

Sue and I don’t recommend spending money you don’t have on an expensive vacation. However, there are times when vacations are the best thing for our family, no matter what else is going on. And if you’re really into the Law of Attraction, like we are, you get an instinctive feeling about whether it’s Ok to spend money frivolously. Very wealthy people spend… and they’re Ok with it. Obviously, we’re on the creating wealth consciousness train. It used to bother me when I thought about or imagined wealthy people wasting money, but I don’t need to care about anyone else’s spending habits anymore. I KNOW Sue and I are making the right choices for us.

When Sue and I and the family were up in Whistler, In November of 2009, we made a bunch of new videos during that wonderful and very productive time away from home. This was the first video about the subject of “I can’t afford it”. (Click Read More below the video)

I’m not sure if this series of emails will read better from the beginning or the end. I guess I’ll start from the beginning, it builds suspense better that way. We’ll start with the original video, that sparked a viewers comments.

From: Stuart Balcomb
Date: February 4, 2010 7:59:10 AM PST (CA)
To: Sue and Steve Soucy
Subject: “I Can’t Afford It

I was very dismayed to see the “I Can’t Afford It” video you posted.  It seems the message is that if you can’t afford it, charge it!  I’m sorry Steve, but THAT is a crock.  Our entire country is plagued with debt, with people living under the onus of ever-increasing credit-card bills, making only minimum payments that barely cover the interest charges.  If you had offered some creative solutions such as house-swapping with someone, or canceling a luxury such as Tivo or unlimited text messaging to save for a vacation, then you would have had something of value to offer, but to tell people to simply charge it is the height of irresponsibility.

I primarily work as a composer for film and TV in Hollywood.  When I moved here in 1978, the first thing that I was told was to put six months of living expenses in the bank.  This is a town of “feast or famine,” so it’s important to have that cushion for dry spells.  It took me quite a long time to actually accomplish that, especially after going severely into debt after a bad divorce and putting a son through college, and I worked very hard to finally pull myself out of it.  For the last 15 years I have been completely debt free, paying off my credit cards in full every month, and I have a nice cushion in the bank for those times of “famine.”  Had I followed Steve’s advice each time I wanted a luxury, I would still be in hock.

One of my businesses is a very popular Internet magazine called TheScreamOnline, for art, photography, literature, music, and film.  I admire the ethics of Christopher Howard and attended one of his seminars, and in one issue I featured him.  I am sure that he would not agree with your reckless attitude.  I suggest that you read one of my editorials, “Financing the Future.”

Best of success for your goals,

Stuart Balcomb
aka Stuart Vail
Editor-in-Chief
TheScreamOnline

On Feb 4, 2010, at 11:21 PM, Steve Soucy wrote:
hi Stuart,

I understand your reasons for emailing us, and I’d like to show my appreciation for your opinion by responding to your email on our Sue and Steve Show blog. I’m asking your permission to use your name and signature.

Steve Soucy

The blog post will appear as follows:

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for emailing us.  I’m really glad we sent out that video with out email because it really helps us identify who likes what we are talking about and who doesn’t.  We don’t want to convince you of anything that doesn’t resonate with you.  Please feel free to delete yourself from our mailing list, we certainly don’t want to cause you any undue unhappiness.

We spend a lot of time listening to Abraham-Hicks information through Esther and Jerry Hicks.  A lot of people think they are wacko, mostly because Esther purports to be channeling spirits.  Sue and I are completely Ok with that, and we simply love their messages.  Many of the other authors we are interviewing and paying attention to as part of our Millionaire Affair, are also very comfortable with the “Secret”, the Law of Attraction, reincarnation, spirits, ghosts and especially people creating their own reality based on the thoughts in their head.

There are a lot of people who currently think our choices, are very brave, transparent and inspiring.  Those are the people we are focused on.

Lots of people also think we’re wacko and reckless.  And yes, I can be honest enough to tell you there are times Sue and I have feared that we are too reckless.  We have 3 young kids and we are teaching them everything we learn as well.  However, negative fear based-thoughts aren’t going to help us get where we want to go with this, nor will they help us achieve our goal of helping everyone who is kind enough to spend time learning this stuff with us.

People are attracted to us because they see something different from the old paradigm of work your butt off, pay off your house and then retire.  They see 2 people willing to Buck the Recession without having a crystal clear plan.  They know we’re willing to look naysayers in the eye and know we’re doing what’s best for us.  At no time do we want anyone to do exactly all the same things we are do.  We want everyone to make their own decisions, rather than what the media or gurus suggest.  With our Millionaire Affair we are presenting a variety of perspectives and methods that show how people have created a million dollars for themselves, by making the world a better place.  We’re all about becoming a enlightened millionaires, as Mark Victor Hansen so aptly described.

With your permission, I’m happy to include your letter on our blog (we’ll gladly remove any direct reference to yourself or your magazine if you like).  Then many people will see what great advice you also have, and we’ll both be doing the world a favour by offering both perspectives.  That way if anyone else decides to take exception to the same comment I made, I also have this response ready, instead of re-writing my thoughts.  This email to you is not about making you wrong, it’s only about explaining myself to other people who also may have the same reaction to an offhand remark about using credit.  When we make our videos, we aren’t scared of making mistakes or comments that some people might judge as reckless.  I come from a music improvisation background, and sometimes the mistakes are where the magic is.  And I do believe in magic.

We don’t espouse endlessly living off credit any more than we espouse jumping out of a plane without a parachute.  If you disregard everything else we talk about, and focus on one sentence in a video, you are also wasting your time watching anything with us.  People make mistakes… and can still learn & recover quickly.  However extraordinary times often require extraordinary action.  I’m positive we aren’t the only entrepreneurs who have temporarily lived on lines of credit between business ventures.  Ask Donald Trump…

I truly believe your perspective and choices are PERFECT for you.  You are making all the right decisions for your life.  The decisions we make for our life, will either be attractive to our audience or they won’t.  We don’t want or need to make all of the people happy all of the time.  That isn’t our goal.

Your opinion of my remark has reminded you of many things you feel are not good with your experience of your country when you write:  “our entire country is plagued with debt, with people living under the onus of ever-increasing credit-card bills, making only minimum payments that barely cover the interest charges.”

I don’t have the same view, nor am I American.  I view the entire world as one “country,” and will continue to do so.

Speaking as a writer/producer myself with 40 years experience, I am very happy for you that you’ve been debt free for 15 years and that your credit cards are paid off in full every month.  I am very familiar with the level of dedication, craftsmanship and relationship skills it requires to create music for a living.  After rereading your email, I can see that you have a deep personal experience with understanding why an off-hand remark like mine, ie: “charge it,” would cause you to reply at length about the consequences of reckless credit card spending.

However, I know why I said it, and I also know why it applied to us in that moment.  So I’m quite Ok with it being in that video.  If it appears reckless to you, I also know it will appear inspiring to others

thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts with us,

Steve Soucy

I love this cartoon. Every time I see an argument on-line, this pic comes to mind.

On 5-Feb-10, at 8:43 AM, Stuart Balcomb wrote:
Steve,

First of all, I fully appreciate the time you took to answer.  Many people would have brushed me off and sent my email to the trash along with all the others that disagreed with them.  You certainly have my permission to use my comments in their entirety. Please allow me one more.

I wasn’t condemning “charging” as a means of accessing money.  There are very useful ways of implementing the credit system to get ahead.  The woman who invented the Lizard Lights maxxed-out her credit cards to start what became a million-dollar business.  Max Simon went further into debt to attend powerful self-improvement courses, and he is now well on the road to an incredible career.

I simply feel that charging a vacation when you can’t afford it is irresponsible.  Not going to Whistler isn’t showing your kids a lack of fear.  Finding another solution would teach them an invaluable lesson.  What if your business did not take off in the time frame that you had planned?  I’ll show you real fear: the look on your children’s faces when they realize that you may lose the home, when the car is repossessed, when there’s barely enough food on the table.  That’s a worst-case scenario, but it IS a possibility to be considered.

Again, coming up with some creative solutions, as I mentioned in my first email, or even going on a camping trip in the woods or at the beach would be equally as fun for the kids as a high-priced resort.  That’s how I was raised, and we had loads of fun.  I was also left with a healthy sense of fiscal responsibility.  If I wanted a basketball, I mowed lawns to EARN it, and that basketball meant more to me than if someone had given it to me.

Blessings and light on your journey.

Stuart

On Feb 5, 2010, at 9:55 AM, Steve Soucy wrote:

Stuart,

Thank you for your response.

As I said in my last email, your perspective and opinions are perfect for you, and of course people who are looking to think like you.  I’m not getting into a long debate with you…I’m allowing your POV to be heard, it will be posted on our blog.  This extra rebuttal is moot.  I asked for your permission to post your initial letter, you agreed.  Thank you for that.

We’re not going to change our beliefs based on what you or Wendy Moore think is the “right way” to live financially.  For us, trusting in the Law of Attraction is all about trusting instincts and how things feel.  Sue and I have a clear plan, we were also fairly clear about it during our Whistler vacation.  It was obviously a working vacation, we recorded a lot of videos, edited and posted them all while we were on our working holiday.  And you are not privy to the excellent deal we negotiated ourselves or the actual amount the entire vacation cost us, which was very little.

The whole point of our Sue and Steve Show is feel the fear and do it anyway.

Steve Soucy

From: Stuart Balcomb
Date: February 5, 2010 9:56:48 AM PST (CA)
To: Steve Soucy
Subject: Re: may I ask you a favour Stuart?

Thanks for clearing up some things, such as the deal you made… that’s exactly what I was talking about!  I just wish that that had been conveyed in your video.

We really are on the same page!
I look forward to today’s webinar.

Be well,

SB

Thank you for reading all this. This blog post was initially written as a response to Stuart’s email, but it turned into a fabulous learning experience for me. I was able to respond to it without getting too snarky… and I think our new friend gets our perspective a little more. As well, I am even more clear about where our line in the sand is with regards to spending money, and responding to emails.

Derek Sivers taught me something very valuable about answering a question clearly for everyone to see, so that it didn’t need to be answered again. From now on, I’ll just show people this blog post.

I bet you’ve had your own thoughts that will either help you be realistic about how you spend money, or you’ll see that you have a barrier or two that could use breaking. “Busting Loose from the Business Game,” by Robert Scheinfeld is a great read.

All I’ll say is that spending money is a way of showing appreciation for the things you value in life. God I love my life, thank you!

Steve