It's so easy to spend money. So easy in fact that I catch myself thinking of new ways to spend money that I don't even have. I won't actually spend it, but I'll plan what I would do if I had the money to spend.
I realized I was doing that today when I was trying to justify spending $60 a month for a wireless Sprint card to use on my laptop. When I realized what I was doing, I asked myself, "If it's so easy to think of new ways to spend money that I don't have, then why don't I think of ways to make money I don't need?"
What is it that makes spending money so easy and "fun" while making money is so difficult and boring? Is it because we associate the action of spending money with a feeling of contentment, while the action of making money is associated with hard work and frustration?
I often find myself wondering what the point of making money is if not to spend it. Perhaps I'm living too much in the moment and not planning for the future -- maybe because I expect to be able to handle whatever the future throws at me.
Then I'll do something that immobilizes me to the point where I cannot run, jump, or do anything physically strenuous. I'll watch a snowboarding commercial and get a glimpse of what it must feel like to be paralyzed for life; to know you'll never be able to do certain things that others take for granted. I realize how important being financially stable with money set aside would help me live a better life. In that moment I make a promise to myself that I will be more grateful for life when I get better, only to later forget that feeling altogether and go back to being arrogantly confident that I'm invincible and that I will live forever.
What an idiot.
Money should not be thought of as an object that allows us to obtain something we don't already have but rather as a resource which grants us certain freedoms and privileges. The more money we owe others (debts), the more they own us (assets). The more they own us, the less freedom we are privileged to.
Most of us maintain the misconception that we must spend money to make money. We believe that we must first sacrifice some of our own money before we can collect and take from others what they have. This just isn't true.
When you work for someone, they give you money because you're giving them something in return that is more valuable to them than the money they're giving you (and when that ceases to be the case, you get fired). Making money isn't about taking. Making money is about giving. The choices you make with your time and the ways in which you choose to give all determine the money you make.
So, how have you given today?
Money money money…………. MONEY!
Wife came home last night thinking how to conserve money. Say goodbye to cable TV 🙁 – say goodbye to lights 🙁 – say goodbye to ??? dishwasher soap ??? she’ll wash them in the sink… I’m lost on that one. Dish soap vs. dishwasher soap? 😆
hahah… re-Captcha – the Canadiens
Here is a list of appliances and their estimated cost. It’s a site for New Hampshire, so I’m sure the energy costs are different from where you live, but it should give you an idea of the differences in cost.
I don’t like dishwashers because I feel it encourages people to leave their dirty dishes in the sink for someone else to put into the dishwasher. And if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean, thats all the more reason to leave the dish in the sink. 🙂 That’s how it was for me growing up and now I refuse to use a dishwasher. I wash my dishes by hand the minute I put them in the sink!
I don’t know about that. I’ve seen dishes sitting in your sink till morning, although they might have been mine. 😛