Show Me The MONEY!

I had a conversation about money the other day. The person I was speaking with claims that he hates money. His story is probably fairly common; he had the money one day and then the next, it was all gone. He'd worked very hard for his money and it was easily a representation of that hard work. I am not going to go any further into the details of that situation; I have summed it up well enough.

I understand why he hates money. But I don't think that has to be the way it is. There are many sayings about money; it makes the world go round, you're nothing without money, show me the money and so on.

I neither hate nor love money. Money is the means with which we live in this modern society. It is false to hate or love money.

Money is something to be very pragmatic about. It is merely a tool in the way we live; money allows us choices in our lifestyle.

When figuring out how much money you need to survive and to live the way you would like to, first you have to determine how you want to live. There is not right or wrong way to live. The only wrong way to live is a way in which you are not satisfied; the whole keeping-up-with-the-Jones' is a waste of energy and only causes unnecessary stress. What I mean by this is to simply find contentment in the way you choose to live. The ideal lifestyle runs the gamut; some wish to live off the grid and work the land with their hands. Others prefer high rise condos with the twinkling lights of the city. And there are many many styles in between. So before you decide to work your tail off and save a pile of money, you need to figure out what you're piling that money up for.

Then of course, once that's done, you can proceed to use the money to provide the lifestyle you choose for yourself. I'm not sharing any new and startling information here but I do think it's important to understand money and why and how we use it. I'm certainly not the best at handling my income and I will never claim to be any kind of financial whiz; the point is to respect your money and use it appropriately.

This whole idea of having money to provide a satisfying lifestyle is the exact reason why I chose to return to school and further my career. My lifestyle choices require earning more money than I currently do. So, with that in mind, I choose to suck it up for a bit, work hard at my education, and then I'll be able to proceed with my fancy sheets and travel plans. I'm a sucker for airplanes and high thread count organic cotton. But those are my choices and I am happy with them; I have to respect this about myself.

So what do YOU choose? What brings quality to your life?