Money is Not Evil, for Pete's sake!

Happy Tuesday! I'm still blogging! Woohoo!

Nothing has changed on the financial route - same savings and debt. My life insurance payment came out of my checking account today, so that's everything that was scheduled for this paycheck. My online banking total matches what I have on my spreadsheet.

Let's talk about the M word - Money. For some people, it is a bad word. It has so many bad connotations. I read a book last year - a Jen Sincero book that pretty much says what all the wealth management, money making books say - change your mindset about money and let it all flow in.

I currently make $17.99 an hour and work 40 hours a week. After taxes, medical insurance and 401k, I take home about $1035 every 2 weeks. My bosses have always said “Don’t talk about your pay with your coworkers.” Well, if any of my co-workers find this blog and read it – this is what I make and I’m talking about it. Now, they say this not only because the subject of money is taboo, but because management doesn’t want us to negotiate our pay with the knowledge of what our co-workers are making. They don’t want you to feel bad if you aren’t making as much as the person sitting next to you, but you do the same amount of work. I’m sorry, but I’m tired of hiding money in the shadows of my life.

I say this because I’m trying to erase my current views on money and change them. Money is not evil. Money is not a means to an end. The world’s problems come from greed, not money. Greed for land, greed for resources, greed for power and yes, greed for money and riches.

Money itself is not evil. Money is a necessity, because we do not live in a barter market. We live in a market that requires money in order to get the things we need and want. So therefore, money cannot be both necessary and evil. If we think that, we are creating a paradox in our minds that will refuse to see the potential money can have in our lives.

Think of money as a person. A real, flesh and blood person. Now, if we continue to be negative about Money (the person), they are going to pick up on that vibe and not come around. The same thing with money (the tangible object). The universe has a way of picking up on our feelings and if we are negative towards money, it isn't going to come around. We have to be grateful to money and welcome it with open arms. Only then can we truly appreciate what we have. 

Funny coincidence - it seems that I get sales in groups. And usually when I don't particularly need them. I appreciate them all the same, but I never get seem to get sales when I have $2 in my checking account and have 3 days to payday and I need gas money. Go figure, right? But on payday, I could have 2 or 3 sales one right after the other. Coincidentally - I had a few sales on New Years Eve. I had just received my VA disability check, and was sitting good to make my mortgage payment. I didn't need the sales, but right after I got them, I started up a blog post. I love when money comes my way. 

I read in a book that being wealthy is not about a certain dollar figure. Being wealthy means that you have the money to take care of all your needs and wants. If I didn’t have debt, I probably could be wealthy off $17.99 an hour. Think about that for a moment. If I wasn’t paying off debt, I could have all the money I needed to pay my utilities and monthly bills. I could have money to save. I would have the money for a new car.

So, even if I don’t get a raise, once my debt is paid off, I could be wealthy. Not rich, but wealthy.

Growing up, I was always told “live within your means”. That’s pretty hard to do, quite honestly. But what my mother meant was don’t run up credit card debt and don’t take out loans if you can help it. If you have to take out a loan, make sure it is within your budget to pay it off. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Hence, why I’m in this situation.

If I lived within my means, I’d have maybe $100 for food and gas for 2 weeks. That doesn’t work when you have a teenage boy and when healthy food is so much more expensive than junk food. But my son is graduating this year and moving to his father’s, so I’ll have a little wiggle room in the grocery budget. My current grocery budget is $250 for 2 weeks, and that includes gas.

I’m not greedy. But yet I want money. I want enough money to pay my bills, which is the whole reason to get a job in the first place. If I didn't need money and everything was free, I'd be able to sit at home and knit or crochet and watch TV all day long. And then I'd be in a house full of yarn things because I wouldn't have to sell them to make money. Think about that.