How could I not post about this article? I found myself feeling less than sympathetic for Ken Karpman. If ever there was a poster child for why you need to have emergency savings and a fall back plan, Ken Karpman is it. Ken was making $750,000 a year when times were good. He has now been reduced to delivering pizzas and his marriage is stumbling. I’m sure Ken realizes now that consumerism doesn’t make the man. Through their confidence in his ability to make that level of income, they failed to plan for the time that Ken couldn’t make that kind of income. It sounds like Ken is far from bottom but I guess you have to give him credit for at least trying to provide for his family.
My recommendation to Ken would be to sell off some of the many personal possessions his family accumulated during the “good” times. It sounds like there are some jet skis, and designer clothes that might cover a house payment or two.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7111098&page=1
Ouch. My fun may be very small now, but that is partly because I’m aiming to have all my debts paid before the end of the year. Once that is done I intend to take a portion of what I’m using to pay those down, and make it an automatic transfer to savings.
But if someone gave me even just $75,000 today? Better believe most of it would go into either an emergency fund or long term investment.
“Be careful what you wish for” great advice from the old folks to the kids born to the kids of the kids who went through the depression. A penny saved is a penney earned.. there’s another lesson.. and how about “Waste not want not”? Thanks Nana for all those great lessons that I never learned the easy way.. experiance has been a very cruel teacher.
But, did we all get here on purpose or was there some sort of subliminal message that has been pushed on us all from the media, from our governmant, and maybe even if we are honest, just basic human greed? I don’t know for sure.. and I can somewhat understand the Pizza man’s delimma.. hanging on to a dream while living a nightmare… I can understand the level of stress..I can understand the family’s pain.. what I can’t understand is living that way for 2 to 3 years…
Get real..
lesson number one.. don’t take good money to chase bad
lesson number two.. know when to say when.. calculate your risk and set boundaries.. pull out when you have or are approaching the preset loss limit
lesson number three.. don’t let your ego get attached to possessions.. you are only using them for your pleasure anyway.. and have you ever seen a trailer hooked up to the back of a Funeral car?
Lesson number four.. don’t try to eat the apple with one bite.. you will choke.. in the words of the late great Carl Karcher, “Inch by inch is a cinch”
Lesson number five.. Prepare for the worst.. focus on the best.. do what you know to do and consult with professionals on issues that are out of your area of expertise..
Lesson number six.. “If you fail to plan, you are planning to Fail” (I forgot the author’s name for this quote
lesson number seven. You can accomplish just about anything tou want to… but not by yourself.. what you do will have an effect on many people.. make sure you include that in your plans
Lesson number eight.. Don’t do business with people who cheat on their spouses.. if they can’t be trusted to keep their most important vow.. how can you trust them in doing business with you?
Lesson number nine.. Think outside the box.. but make sure you have a security line back to the box..
Lesson number ten.. (I hate this one) If it sounds too good to be true… It probably is.. there is no get rich quick deal that will not either rob you of all your assetts or take your freedom..
Blog away.. hope this helps someone..
it’s gotta take a truckload of humility for Ken Karpman to take on that pizza delivery gig; well done i’d say
A lot of people are going to learn these lessons the hard way. Many of them will not have the $750 salary, but I’m sure many will be six figure income earners. In the end people will consume smarter, but it will take some pain and time.
This almost sounds like fiction to me. How irresponsible can one person be, especially someone who, presumably, is well educated?
And to think an anonymous someone paid for their kids private schooling when so many others are much worse off and so much more deserving.
Unbelievable greed and arrogance. These financial guru muckity mucks with their MBA’s didn’t have the sense to manage their own money. It’s no wonder so many of them were irresponsible with other peoples money.
I think selling his stuff would be very smart. Also, downsizing in other ways, particularly in “fixed” expenses. Sell the car and buy a good used one. No lease!
And dump your cell phone. Get a prepaid phone and manage your expense!
Great article on that here.
Yeah, well done to Ken for delivering the pizza’s…IT just goes to show you should ALWAYS plan for the future. It’s amazing that someone earning that kind of money can find themselves in financial difficulty. It also shows how greedy everyone is, not just the banks.
The unbelievable thing about this story to me is that with that kind of income his house wasn’t paid for.
Give me just 6 months at that salary and the house would be paid off and there would be money in the bank.
Makes me wonder if he exaggerated his earnings just to make a good story.
It’s amazing seeing the same things happening in the states as here in the UK. however one thing I’m seeing in the UK is the different attitudes to debt between those ‘normal’ people and those who I (like many) blame for the financial mess we’re all in. Those who were ‘rich’ before, having made their money from sub-prime etc but now have problems seem to have a chip on their shoulder and some even blame the man in the street for losing their posh houses. bizarre!
It would be interesting to hear if you guys stateside see the same?