Tuesday, August 4, 2015

What Money Means to Me

What does money mean to me?  I can sum that up quickly by using two words, opportunities and independence.  But let me elaborate, and I will start with the second.

Independence... To me, independence is probably one of the most important qualities that one can possess.  I correlate being independent to being free, to being able to make choices and decisions based on what is right for you, rather than something imposed upon you.

More than any materialistic possession, I value the independence that my money has given me more than anything else.  While I am lucky enough to have a stable job and to make a decent income, I have to admit that you don't have to make a mind-blowing amount of money to achieve this.  It comes down to what you value more.

My financial independence has allowed me to get out of some heavy situations and gave me the freedom to able to choose to live a happy and healthy life.  I am most grateful for the ability to support myself and Ewan after Dale's passing.  I had to budget like a bookkeeper, but we still managed to avoid uprooting our entire lives.  We were able to stay in our same apartment in NYC and I was able give myself time to figure out what was best for us.  Four years later and thousands of dollars spent on day care, babysitters, and trips back and forth across the state to visit my family as much as possible and I have no regrets about choosing to stay in NYC and to raise Ewan completely alone (for 3 and a half years, John put an end to that :)).

Opportunities...  That depends on the eye of the beholder.  Some want the opportunity to own their own home, to educate themselves or their children, to feed and clothe their families, to travel, to own a Prada purse, to drive a fancy car, and the list goes on and on and on.

Although I never would have considered myself a materialistic person, I did learn the hard way of having to let go of materialistic things.  I have moved so many times in my life and have also had to let go of so much of my past by saying goodbye to materialistic items that I now value the saying "less is more."  That is not to say that you won't find nice things in my home or in my closet.  As far a home furnishings go, I try to keep it simple.  As far as clothing and such go, I like to look nice, but I do not go overboard.  I think the average age of all the clothes in my closest in 7 years, no joke.

For me, I value giving my son opportunities... the opportunity to take karate classes, to see different things and to have a wide variety of experiences.  For myself I value the opportunity to try different things like taking photography classes or even starting up my own business hobby with Lemongrass Spa.  I value the opportunities that I have to travel and see the world.

Money does not buy happiness, but for me it does buy independence and opportunities, which are priceless.  Ironically, the more money that comes into my life, the more I realize how little is actually needed to obtain the happiness and the independence and opportunities that it buys, so much so that I find myself donating more money and finding charities that hold a true meaning for me to give to.  I am a good person, but by no means a saint.  I guess that I am just... happy.  :)

Thank you mom and dad.  <3

What does money mean to you?  What do you value?