Once upon a time there was a land where there was no currency. In order to survive people had to rely on one another for food, clothing, shelter and everything else essential to live. Trading one trade for another was common place and each person was responsible for the next.
Fast forward to today's world. Money, greed, power all goes hand and hand. No matter where you look there is always somebody trying to make a dollar off of people that need it the most. The worst part of it all is the world is immune to this way of life. As long as it isn't them that is getting scammed then they could care less.
Why is the world so obsessed with the newest car, gadgets and lifestyles I will never understand. Now I admit, I went through my car phase in my early 20s. I purchased a brand new car every few months and some really nice hotrods during that time. I even miss driving them. But then I look at my paid off Nissan Sentra in my parking space and I realize how great it feels to not have to worry about making another car payment on that ride anymore. Actually, for over a year now I have put away an additional $200 a month into my money market account. Why? Because all I have to do to keep me from the car dealership is look at how much money I have put away in 6 months... a year... two years just by not going after a purchase that is completely unnecessary in my life. Sure I can afford it... but why. Isn't that why so many Americans are in financial crisis in the first place, because they stretch their paycheck to the max and in most cases live ABOVE their means?
Think about it. A family could bring home around $3000 a month, have a decent apartment with 2 cars and have enough money to put away for the future. Suddenly one of them gets a new job and now they are up to $6000 a month. What do they do... they buy a new car, move to a bigger place, start going out to eat several times a week and maybe pick up golf or do more shopping on clothing. In the end they make twice as much but still are not able to put any more money away.
What if they get $10,000 a month? Well they buy a boat for recreational purposes, buy expensive jewelry for each other to flash around, buy a 3rd and 4th vehicle for pleasure driving and hire a maid to clean their house. Now you are so used to that lifestyle that anything less will be considered remedial and a huge step back.
The world today is full of people that can't seem to look past the following week. They feel just because they have it easy now that it will always be that way. Unfortunately many find out the hard way that is not true.
I am very happy with my life. One- because we have everything we ever need around us to live comfortably. Two- because I make sure that at the end of the month I put whatever we made extra away. And Three- because I know no matter what happens in the future I am financially secure enough to get through some hard times that may come our way. All it took was discipline to feel just as good putting money away as I did buying something I didn't need.
Now I am not stating that EVERYONE should do as I did because not everyone is in my same position. But I did start from scratch when I was 18 years old and everything I have now I built slowly and smartly. I was not given a trust fund, or the keys to a home I didn't earn or win the lottery. I used what I had to make it work. And that notion has never left me.
I always felt that as long as I am not greedy, as long as I take the extra time to plan before buying and as long as I have patience enough to get through the temptations of all the world has to offer that I will be able to face anything that comes my way. After all, the best thing we can really ask for in life is that our basic needs are met to insure our survival. If we have that then truthfully what else in life do we REALLY need anyway.
I know the world will never go back to the idea of trading your trade. But I like to think that I can make a difference by doing that myself. I have several areas in my life that I have learned to do well, and I am always more than happy to trade my services for what others can offer. Because humanity is really all we have. If we lose that then what good are we really?
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