I was recently asked by a friend of mine to talk about my thoughts on money, and that's what I'm going to do here. You can do the same thing. Just ask me about a topic, and chances are good that I'll say yes. All you need to do is e-mail me, post a comment, post on my facebook, tweet at me, send me a facebook message, text me, call me, talk to me in person... I think you get the point? I'm fairly easy to get a hold of. Anyways, cash. Money. Moolah. Dough. Here's "the meat" of the post:
Honestly, I kind of hate money. Well, that's not entirely true. I think in a way that pretty much everyone likes money. What I mean is that I don't really like the concept of money. A couple of you (or maybe only my dad) may have heard me say something along the llines of "I think money is an unnecessary evil, but I'm not sure about the 'unnecessary' part..." That's about where I stand on it. I mean, I don't like what money can do to people. It can turn them into obsessed misers who want every penny they can find. That seems like it would be a disappointing lifestyle, if you ask me. Always chasing another dollar, reaching for another raise; sounds like endless dissatisfaction. Ideally, money would be unnecessary. Every need would be taken care of, and things would be peachy keen. Unfortunately, our world is less than ideal.
Because of our less than ideal world, the society we live in requires us to have money in order to buy food and other such necessities.
What is a healthy view on money? Good question. My answer? Good question. Literally, that's my answer. I mean, obviously (at least, I hope this is obvious) we don't want to be spending our money as we get it. That's irresponsible and kind of stupid to be honest. On the other hand, we don't need to be saving every cent of it, either (a brief disclaimer on the following: I can't really speak as a person with bills to pay and rent to keep, etc. Heck, I still live with my parents; they feed me and house me). Like a lot of kids when I was growing up, I got an allowance. My parents gave me 20 dollars a month (if I did my chores). It came with some guidelines though. For all my allowance money, I had to save at least half of it, tithe at least 10 percent of it, and then I could spend the rest. For the not so math inclined, that's at least 10 dollars saved and 2 dollars tithed every month with up to 8 dollars spent. I think this was a great system. In a small way, it taught me some fiscal responsibility, as well as helping me figure out the whole tithing thing (since, ya know, as Christians, we're called to give).
The thing about having money is being responsible. I'm old enough now to have met some people who just can't have money. Like, they get it, they spend it. It's gone, then they need it. Don't do that. You'll be miserable. On the flip side, don't be miserly. You'll be miserable. Find a healthy median. Have money saved for what you'll need, but don't be uptight about having as much money saved as you can. While money can bring you happiness, it most certainly cannot bring joy. For those that disagree, wouldn't you be happy if I gave you 20 dollars for no reason? If you said no, you're probably lying. You would be happy, but it wouldn't bring you lasting joy; only fleeting happiness.
All in all, I'm not positive why **** asked me to write about this, but there ya go. Hope you enjoyed it. Remember, if you have any suggestions or requests in regards to the blog, let me know, I'll see what I can do.
Anyways, what are your thoughts on money? How can you fix some of your bad habits?
You need to run spell check to eliminate the typos. I agree with your philosophy. It just gets harder to put into practice when your bills equal your take-home pay or exceed it.
ReplyDeleteI have two thoughts on this, so here are three paragraphs and an odd sentence about them. No that doesn't quite make cents, but I won't change it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not great with money. Usually, money pays me little more than stress and frustration. Either I feel that I will not have enough to survive after college, or I worry that I'm being too austere to others by my frugality, or that I regret "wasting money" (although I'm not always sure where waste begins).
After much frustration, I began to say that I never want to be rich. If money causes so much stress, why do I seek it? I would rather earn little, spend little, and worry little. There are ways to make change without cash (quite a paradox, isn't it?). Speaking, writing, and just spending time with people can be a bigger mover than the dollar. Often we throw money to distant charities to fill our moral/religious responsibility, which is good. Doesn't it seem a little absurd to worry about the problems across the globe while overlooking those in our back yard? Think about this in relation to the beginning of Matthew 7. It seems like a valid point of view.
Now, for a completely nonsensical shift in thought.
I often make excuses to myself for being cheap that don't line up with this. For example, "if I save more now, I can give still more later." There is logic to this... but can we be sure enough of tomorrow to validate it? Proverbs 27 says not to boast about tomorrow; we should not count our chickens, for giving or for keeping, before they hatch. Then again, to live without financial planning of any sort is irresponsible and foolish. "If I save more now, I can give still more later;" What do you think about this reasoning?
Zac, I like the way you look at this. I honestly have put some thought to the whole "live without money" thing. I would love to just give up the whole "I need to go to college so I can get a good job and live comfortably some day" thing, and just go living with a "I'll work for you for a place to stay and food to eat" mentality. The only problem is that it's not really a possibility in today's world.
ReplyDeleteWell, that and the fact that my parents think I'd be wasting my "talent".
But overall, good post. And I love to blog. Keep up the good work.
*the* blog.
ReplyDeleteNot to blog.
But I do kind of enjoy that as well.
I would just like to insert some generally related comments here.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I think the concept behind money in the first place is somewhat interesting. Originally, there was a barter system. Then came money, or "potential getter of stuff" (for utter lack of a better phrase), out of which arose coins. And then came paper bills, backed by gold stocks or some other stuff that I don't feel I have a great understanding of. But I guess that's more of a pseudo history lesson.
In regards to giving, I would just like to mention that those who give should be able to trust the person either receiving or distributing it. For example, you probably have good reason to trust your church, so you put something in the plate. But you don't necessarily trust the peddler downtown with a story about being out of gas. Same with foundations. So basically, look into these places and see that your tithes and other offerings will actually end up benefiting someone who needs it or will use it wisely.
And on a completely unrelated sidenote, I'm curious if anyone besides Zac actually reads these extra comments... I know that once I've posted I don't go back to look at other people's posts. Just a thought.