Well, I’m all for having a party, but it strikes me that you don’t have to be an American to appreciate freedom, and doing what I’m told isn’t best way to exercise independence.

So, let’s expand that notion of freedom just a bit, and look at how we can become more aware of fireworks that are lighting up our minds.

What sets off your mental fireworks? What ignites your personal bottle rockets?

Perhaps it’s a simple pet peeve, like small handbag dogs, or Jello salad, or people who talk on their cell phones too loudly. Maybe you go ballistic when you hear a certain song. We often have extreme reactions to relatively minor things based on our own little stories about them.

Maybe you save your fireworks for big-ticket items—issues like war, poverty, health, and education.

In your head or in sky above, when those fireworks start exploding, you’ve got two choices. You can either: 1) Hoot/holler, ooh/ahh, whistle/clap -or- 2) Watch quietly

The bad news is that it's often true. We have to arrange our lives around our things. You get a new truck that can go anywhere, but you're too busy working to go there. Someone is out fishing while you are putting in overtime to pay for your fishing boat. You use your large-screen television a lot, but does it sufficiently reduce debt-stress that came with it?

Break The Chains!

The good news is that there's a better way. Actually, there are three better ways. First, know what you really value. Second, use cash instead of debt. Third, learn how to look at costs and benefits.