Money Game

It is ironic that when you have less money coming into the house, you are able to live better than when you have more money coming into the house. What I mean to say is that we had more money when Greg was on disability and we were a one income family then we do now. We knew this and even remarked on it back when we were living with only my income and we were genuinely happier then. (Except for the illness thing) Now, we have two steady incomes and find ourselves spending way above our means.

Sure, we deserve to buy things here and there but when you look at how much money you spent and can't remember what you bought with the money - there is a problem. It is also ironic how many marriages fail because of "financial disputes". Yes, Greg and I had even thought about not getting married at one point because we couldn’t agree on money. He wanted to save every penny and I wanted to spend on what I wanted. Actually, that is not true.... Greg was at liberty to spend money on whatever he wanted and save everything else - not allowing me to spend any at all. We were blessed to see the problems before they hurt our relationship but many do not.

So, that leads me to this morning's post. Why is it that we deem things as "needs" when we truly don’t need them in order to live? Yeah, we "need" a new computer. Why? Because this one is almost 3 years old and makes weird noises (like the hard drive is going to die). Do we really "need" a new computer - heck no! We went out some time ago and bought a backup drive. Should our computer die, we have my school laptop to use as well - it is a great laptop and not as old as the desktop but hardly used because it cannot hook into our monitor. So, in essence, do we "need" a new computer? Again I answer no! Do people "need" $70 sneakers for their infant - No! Does a car "need" $700 worth of parts replaced when the car is working fine and there is no reason to replace these items - no!

But, we are a society built on our "right" or "need" to have these things if we so desire. It is for that reason that we are lazier, fatter, and more self-indulgent then any other country out there. People in other countries actually make fun of our citizens because of the "rights" they proclaim - and then our American "citizens" then complain when their "rights" are taken away. Yet, our Americans don’t understand that these are more privileges then rights - just like the "right" to drive a car - if you can't drive - you have NO RIGHT! It is a privilege!

This is not to start any controversy - it is just to point out that people don’t truly understand the word "need" - it is something that you must have in order to live. You will not die if you do not have a car - you will not die if you do not have a new computer - and so on. But, you will die if you do not take care of yourself, exercise, eat right, live, love, and laugh. Air is a "need", not hi-top Nike shoes signed by Michael Jordan for your infant child that will never walk in them and will grow out of them within a week! Life is precious and giving yourself a treat every once is a while is fine - just remember that too much of a good thing is bad for you! Take time to figure out what truly are your priorities in this world.

~Shannon
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