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Two of my favorite non-fiction authors, financial expert Dave Ramsey and marketing expert Seth Godin, are frequently lambasted by detractors because their teachings are “common sense.” My reply to these naysayers is generally, “Well, DUH!” Common sense is frequently not all that common. I’m not talking about extreme cases such as biting down on a blasting cap or falling asleep under a truck in the tide . I’m talking about simple concepts.

Dave Ramsey says, “Live on less than you earn.” Detractors say, “Of course. Who doesn’t know that?” My answer, “Apparently, just about everyone.” Or at least they don’t pay attention to this “common sense” advice. The US government debt is $10 TRILLION. That means the federal government has spent $10,000,000,000,000.00 more than it “makes.” The average US household debt (not including mortgage) is $14,500. One out of every four purchases is made with a credit card. We LOVE spending more than we make. So much for “common sense.”

I plan to periodically post some of these “common sense” lessons on here. Some are dumb things I’ve seen other people do. Many are the dumb things I do myself. In any case, I hope you’ll take note of them and maybe you can avoid some of the potholes of life.

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