I seriously wish we never had to deal with money. If we could switch to some sort of bartering system, I would surely be ok with that. Perhaps you know of my love/hate relationship with budgets. They are so darn useful, and easy to manage once you get the hang of them. Budgets help you track your spending, and stay organized with your monies. At the same time, they are hateful. I am a words person, not a numbers person, so all that math sometimes gives me a headache.
I have come to the realization, though, that love it or hate it, I have to deal with the money that comes and goes from my bank account. I can be super organized about it, and put my money to work for me, or I can be lazy and irresponsible with the blessings God has given me.
Money has been on my mind a lot lately. We just had both of our cars repaired (booooooo), recently paid our taxes, just finished paying for my Costa Rica trip this summer, are planning how much we'll need to spend for Vegas and all the weddings we are attending, and we are in the process of getting a little baby puppy!!! On the other hand, I am patiently awaiting July when I will start getting paid my full time salary for my new job. I feel like I'm on a fiscal roller coaster!
Justin and I have a couple goodies in mind that we would like to purchase once that new salary starts rolling in (new laptop, anyone? puppy!!! real grown-up teacher clothes). However, I know that after we get over the initial glee of having a little financial breathing room, it will be back to the same ol' budget. The same ol' tracking of our spending, and the same ol' frugal ways. It's a little monster called student loans my friends. We are hoping to live off one salary, and use the other one to pay off those pesky loans in 2-3 years instead of taking the full 10 years.
I hate the feeling of owing anything to someone else. I love the idea of being independent and free. So we are going to work our butts off to be free of debt, so we can start saving for travel, retirement, and future children's college funds.
Even though I can't live in a magical world of barter, I remind myself every day of my goals and what is important to me. When I know that the hard work is for something I really care about, it's not such a chore anymore.
Keep dreaming, dreamers.
Is your mind on your money?
I don't think the future world will rely on consumption the way it does today. I believe that's a system that will die out, for which I'm glad. Other than that, I can't imagine saving up for all those things! Future school fee, hospital costs, retirement etc. Sounds crazy and I'm glad I don't have to think about all that :)
ReplyDeleteThat would be so nice! I'll teach your children other languages, and you give me food! The perfect trade off.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind saving up for things I look forward to- i.e. travel and retirement. I do have some qualms about paying for future children's college tuition. But that's a topic for another post.
I've got my mind on my money and my money on my mind. Right now I'm planning on going back to school so I can become a full time teacher. In the mean time, I'm using my money to finance my travels. Working for the school board has it's perks. I'm definitely taking advantage of my summer break this year.
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