Thoughts About [Money]

[tcepsa]

Money is something that I have almost always had a hard time talking about. I think my parents were probably more open with me about sex than they were about money management. For example, my dad tried to teach me how to use Quicken and balance my checkbook and create a budget, but I don't remember us ever sitting down and having "The Talk" about finances (whereas I can remember that we did have "The Talk" about sex). So I had some of the technical knowledge of how to balance a checkbook and keep track of money, and I understood that I wanted to keep it out of the red, but beyond that I didn't have much. And I didn't really have any classes on the subject, either, that I can remember. We might have touched on it a little bit back in Family and Consumer Sciences (about 10 or 11 years ago), and I had one Econ class in college that was just painful for me, and that's about it. To me, investing and things like that were something that I would learn about doing "once I grew up."

It's slowly dawning on me that it is time for me to grow up about money. It's time for me to get my head out of the sand and take a more active look at--and role in--my finances. Up until this point I've basically been focusing on staying out of the red. I think I've pretty much got that down now, and I'm looking to learn more about how I can put my hard-earned cash to work for me. I'm currently working my way through some of the Rich Dad books, which seem to be a very good starting place. Right now I'm focusing on absorbing as much of the material as possible, but soon, in a month or two, I will want to start actually doing things as well. For example, a message I'm seeing pretty consistently is "find a competent financial advisor." How does one do that?

I would be surprised if there aren't at least a few LJ communities out there that talk about money management, and I intend to search for them. And if there aren't, or if I don't find one, then I'll probably try to create one. I'm interested in joining, or opening, a dialogue about money. Getting it out of the closet and taking a good look at it. Dusting it off, oiling it up, tinkering with it, seeing whether I can get it to work for me instead of sitting in a bank working for someone else. I know that seems a little bit against the American way, where people talk about money in hushed tones, with shyness, embarassment, fear, or anger (either because they don't have as much as they want, or they have more than their neighbors, or--as I suspect is often the case--both). But I also know that some of the people reading this don't care as much about what other people think, and are more interested in taking beliefs (both their own and others') out and giving them a thorough examination, holding them up against as objective a perspective as they can get. That's all I'm really suggesting here, but instead of beliefs about God and the Universe, I'm going to start looking at beliefs about Money and the Economy. Just as I think it is important for me to have many perspectives when I am pondering the spiritual, I think it is also important for me to have many perspectives when I am pondering the financial.

To that end, I'd like to invite you to comment (anonymous is fine if you're more comfortable with that) on this and subsequent [Money] posts.

Comments

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

I'm coming at things from a bit of a different perspective than most people seem to be.

I know that feeling--it sounds like a perspective rather similar to mine, actually, at least given how strongly I agree with what you've posted.

I haven't heard of that book, but I'll definitely look into it, since that is one of my big things with money. The whole philosophy that so many people have of "work harder to have more money to buy flashier stuff to prove to the world how amazingly awesome you are" doesn't wash with me at all. That description of "making a dying" you mentioned seems quite accurate, especially when it seems like for many people it is "work harder at a job you hate to have more money etc." So you have a six figure income. When was the last time you did something you enjoy, and actually enjoyed it?

At the same time, I'm not opposed to having money. In fact, I'm hoping that through discussions like this, I will ultimately end up having enough to do pretty much whatever I want whenever I want to do it (with exceptions for big things like flying to the moon, which I would probably have to budget a couple months in advance ;) But that part doesn't come for awhile. That's the big dream, the overarching goal. Right now I'm still way down at the baby steps level, trying to comprehend that it might be possible to even get to that point.

I am, however, opposed to thinking that my worth is related to how much I make. That's definitely part of my worldview right now, and I am trying to get rid of it. If I end up making a lot of money, I want it to be so that I can do the things I want to do and see the places that I want to see and have time for it all--not because I think it proves that I'm worth something. So that's something that I am working on in myself. It's another aspect of why I'm looking at money like this. Because, like you noted, it can be very deceptive. People with big fancy cars and big fancy debt, people with little, simple cars and money at their disposal. Which one is more likely leading the life they really want to lead, and following their dreams? Which one is more likely to get there in the long run? It's really impossible to tell, without knowing more about their individual approaches, but it would probably be easier for the one with the little car to get there than for the one with the big debt.

[fireandearth]

Well, I'm all for pimping out this book. It sounds like you would certainly be interested in it. But don't go to a bookstore...get it for 2 bucks on ebay. ;)

http://search.ebay.com//search/search.dll?sojs=1&from=R40&satitle=dominguez++your+money

I'd love to have someone to share a perspective with.

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

Ordered :) Thanks for the tip--I'm saving money already! ;)

(reminds me of a line from a song about home repair that refers to going to the hardware store, "They know me on sight down there / I save hundreds of dollars there every week!")

Also, I've got a few of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books; let me know if you'd like to borrow them.

[fireandearth]

I might, at some point. I'm currently swamped in things I want to read, but I'd like to take a look at those.