Who does not have financial worries these days? And there is plenty of blame to go around. For starters, let’s blame Big Business, Wall Street, Government, the Global Economy, and International Corporations that deliberately avoid local hometown accountability.
But to be fair, let’s also blame ourselves? Are we not also responsible for our own money management, uh, that is, mismanagement? Were we not all too willing to buy into advertiser’s who told us things like “We deserve it,” “We owe it to ourselves,” so, “Buy now, pay later,” “Go ahead, splurge a little,” “Treat yourself to the best,” “Pamper yourself,” “Indulge!”? And we did.
Wasn’t it Benjamin Franklin, way back in the 1700’s that told us that “A penny saved is a penny earned”? And did not Charles Dickens, back in the 1800’s, essentially say, “Earn a dollar, spend ninety-nine cents, result? Happiness! However, earn ninety-nine cents and spend a dollar and one cent, result? Misery!” This last point by Dickens perhaps speaks directly to why many Americans today are in financial misery.
Thus, the first step we can take in mastering our money is to stop buying beyond our income, even if, or especially when, we get our jobs back and we start earning more money again. Putting it simply, if we don’t have the money to pay for it now, let’s not buy it. Let’s wait until we have the money.
We have become an “I want it now!” society. We are like terrible two-year olds crying out, “I want it NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! Give me, give me, give me; mine, mine, mine!” We have forgotten the wise old discipline of saving for a rainy day. We don’t know how to say “No” to something that is good in order to save and wait patiently for something that may even be better or best.
Perhaps too we have forgotten how to be gracious in giving. Yes, when we had a job and a good income we gave, but perhaps it wasn’t because first and foremost we were being kind and generous; perhaps it was more because we benefitted by getting a nice tax write-off on our income-tax returns on April 15th. That is, our motives, our hearts, may not have been in the right place. We thought we were being kind and generous when we were simply being financially calculating.
Thus, the second step we can take in mastering our money is to learn the patience of saving again as well as to learn how to become truly gracious, generous and kind with our money for the right reason—because it is a good thing in and of itself to be a kind, generous, and giving person.
A third step is to take charge of our own money again at the most basic level by keeping a simple but accurate budget, keeping track of where, when, and how we actually spend the money we have. Money management is not only for financial experts and special advisors.
In short, let’s go back to simple earthy wisdom: Debt is debt, let us avoid getting into debt if we don’t have to. Two plus two is four, if we can’t afford it, we can do without it. Let’s learn to be content living within our means. Needs and wants are not the same; let’s buy and pay for what we need first, before we consider what we may want. Most importantly, let us refuse to accept the lie that having more things means being happier.
Let’s also use the ole American know-how and can-do spirit to find new and positive means to make an honest income. The wisdom of our grandparents and great-grandparents has not changed: work hard and earn an honest day’s living, be frugal, pay your own way, spend wisely and don’t’ forget to save a little; and most significantly, learn to enjoy the simple things in life that come free—time with your children, a stroll through the park, watching a sunset, sharing stories around the dinner table or fire place—things that no money can ever buy.
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